Yesterday the AP (and others, but they were first) reported The Obamanon has enough pledged delegates to claim the Democrat nomination. Hillary hasn’t conceded, yet, but all the talking heads went on last night as if Obama is a done-deal. And he probably is. This, of course, leaves me feeling just a little bit perplexed about my fellow Americans of the Democrat persuasion. William J. Bennett, writing at NRO’s The Corner, captures my thoughts exactly:
And thus the Democratic party is about to nominate a far left candidate in the tradition of George McGovern, albeit without McGovern’s military and political record. The Democratic party is about to nominate a far-left candidate in the tradition of Michael Dukakis, albeit without Dukakis’s executive experience as governor. The Democratic party is about to nominate a far left candidate in the tradition of John Kerry, albeit without Kerry’s record of years of service in the Senate. The Democratic party is about to nominate an unvetted candidate in the tradition of Jimmy Carter, albeit without Jimmy Carter’s religious integrity as he spoke about it in 1976. Questions about all these attributes (from foreign policy expertise to executive experience to senatorial experience to judgment about foreign leaders to the instructors he has had in his cultural values) surround Barack Obama. And the Democratic party has chosen him.
So, what’s going on in the country, anyway? Is there something in the water? Should someone…anyone…contact the EPA about this? Is this an outgrowth, or the final stages, of BDS? What the HELL is wrong with these people? Let’s take just one point in Mr. Bennett’s thumbnail description of the why-nots… Obama’s resume is so thin I’d be arrested for indecent exposure were I were to wrap myself in it, solely, and go for a stroll around the
I suppose I shouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth, cf. McGovern, Dukakis, and to a lesser extent, Kerry.
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From the Air Force Association’s Daily Report:
Desert Touchdown: Holloman AFB, N.M., received the first two of its 40 planned F-22s on June 2. "It's a big day. We're very proud to have the aircraft finally here," said Lt. Col. Mike Hernandez, commander of Holloman's 7th Fighter Squadron, who flew in one of the two Raptors. Col. Jeff Harrigian, commander of the base's 49th Fighter Wing, piloted the second F-22. "I'm really proud of what everyone did to make this happen," Harrigian said. Gen. Michael Moseley, Chief of Staff, will hold an official arrival ceremony at the base on Friday (June 6). Holloman is the third of four bases on tap to host combat-ready Raptors under the Air Force's current 183-aircraft program of record. Already Langley AFB,
So…Raptors in
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An interesting…and short… essay by
But to continue: My confession of being an anti-intellectual requires a bit of explanation. Being anti-intellectual is not the same as being anti-intellect. My beef is with a particular social class -- the "intelligentsia" -- and not with the practice of using one's intellect to reflect on experience. In my experience, intellectuals (as a class) are ideologically intolerant, easily offended by ordinary humor, and pretentious in their prejudices, which they disguise as universal truths. (Whether any of these adjectives applies to Professor Heller's response to my little poke, I leave it for others to judge).
Moreover, I find a direct relationship between the academic obscurity of self-consciously "intellectual" writer's prose and the willingness of that writer to justify the unjustifiable.
It takes the convoluted abstractions of a Carl Schmitt or a Heidegger to offer apologetics for Hitler; a Sartre, to temporize about Stalin; a Foucault, to defend Khomeini. In this respect, I stand with George Orwell who spent the 1930s and 1940s denouncing the obscurity of intellectuals' prose as a cloak for tyranny (and, incidentally, who was also accused of being an anti-intellectual). Intellectuals spray polysyllables like squid ink, to evade the democratic decencies of conversation. I'd like not to be one of their number.
Yep. The whole thing is well-put and it’s a quick read. Do go.
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Just a lil hockey in anticipation of tonight’s game…
Where’s the pressure tonite? Depends on who you read… or where you live. First, Bob McKenzie, writing at TSN:
Everybody seems to think that all the momentum in the series has shifted towards the Pittsburgh Penguins. I don't necessarily see it that way.
Is
[…]
I've got to believe that the Red Wings are looking back to their series with the Dallas Stars where they were up 3-0 before Dallas came back to win two straight. At that point everyone was talking about how the momentum had shifted heading to Game 6 in
I'm not saying that
And if you happen to write for a Pittsburgh newspaper, you see it like this:
The Red Wings still lead it, three games to two.
But it was the Red Wings who lost The Marathon.
And recent history is replete with examples of teams that end up losing such games being unable to recover.
And those teams, unlike the Red Wings, didn't belong to AARP as well as the NHLPA.
[…]
That's the emotional and physical baggage the Red Wings have dragged with them into Game 6 tonight.
This wasn't just a loss after 49:57 of OT.
This was a shot right to the octopus.
The truth is out there…and will be revealed tonight, beginning just after
What was the cost of Game Five and its two and a half overtime periods? From NHL.com:
The physical toll of Game 5 was truly staggering.
The teams played almost 110 minutes of hockey, combined to score seven goals, give and received 69 hits and block 43 shots before
The game lasted a staggering four hours and 36 minutes.
And there’s more… including Malone’s five stitches and chipped teeth from taking a puck in the face, Pens D-man Orpik’s need for intravenous fluids to alleviate cramping, and so on. Ya gotta be tough to be a hockey player.
And… if you missed Game Five, you missed yet another game for the ages. From The Hockey News:
This is what we envisioned.
Game 5 had everything:
Electricity. The crowd was pumped well before the opening faceoff, spontaneously chanting as the pre-game music played. They were quieted in the first period, but reached a zenith in the third when the Wings went ahead, and maintained their vigor through much of the overtimes.
An abundance of scoring chances. The offenses were on display early and often.
A frenetic pace. Obstruction, for the most part, was on holiday.
Comebacks. The Wings' surge in the third period was high drama; the Penguins shocker to tie it, then the stunner to win it was out of
Unbelievable saves. By both netminders, but in particular Marc-Andre Fleury. He was plywood between the pipes. The toe save he made on Mikael Samuelsson will be immortalized in highlight reels. Chris Osgood deserves kudos for remaining sharp when needed, despite long spells of inactivity.
[…]
How entertaining was the contest? The worn-out beat reporters sitting on press row – men and women who after two months of travel typically pray for the final to end in a sweep, regardless of who wins – were standing in OT ...for good chunks of it anyway. It’s the first game I can recall attending in years where I felt nervous energy as a paid neutral observer.
And that ain’t the half of it…
Once again: Game Six tonight…on NBC.
A few years ago I had read we were going to get the Raptors at Cannon. But that was before the whole BRAC thing. Nice looking plane.
ReplyDeleteI'm still trying to figure out what the 'rats see in Obama. It's scary, the people out there with not one lick of common sense.
Oh, those Raptors are just stupid cool.
ReplyDeleteWOW the Raptors are so cool!
ReplyDeleteI hope your Wings win Buck.
What the HELL is wrong with these people?
ReplyDeleteEXACTLY!, I just don't get it. I've tried, but I still. don't. get. it.
... and GO WINGS!
Cody is still upset that they retired the F-14 Tomcats. The Raptors are pretty cool though.
ReplyDeleteAnd just for you: Go Red Guys!
F-22 is a fine aircraft...been flying it for years...on the computer that is!
ReplyDeleteBill Bennett's piece was masterful! and, if anyone does figure it out, PLEASE explain it to me!
ReplyDeleteRAPTORS - so cool!!!!
The anti-intellectual thing is interesting. It reminds me of my brother's friends who were considered the "smart kids" in school. They tended to think their intelligence was so far above everyone else that they were really cool. They thought their jokes were so funny, but they were really not. They were elitists often out of touch with reality. You see these people in society today as doctors with poor bed-side manners, politicians like Obama, or movie producers who produce movies to push their agenda. I thought these people were very smart, but only in one sense of intelligence. They had no real insight into life, no real common sense – they were just out there. A high school counselor once told me that there were over 200 different intellects to measure the IQ, but our test only measured 20 of them – the 20 we deem most important in our society. Very interesting!.
ReplyDeleteYep, F-22's are nice to look at. Too bad there ain't anyone nasty enough for the AF to go after with them. Kind of like the B-1 and B-2, afraid to fly them in a "conventional" war lest one go down by way of the magic bullet theroy or bird strike. They are so expensive and way over the capabilities of anything else, a true generational leap in fighter technology. When the first one makes a big smoking hole in the ground somewhere the US treasuary will surely take a hit and all us taxpayers should cry for the loss.
ReplyDeleteI only ask, where is the threat that we counter with this?
Nice to look at though and nothing puts on a better air show!!! Your taxes at work.
I won't even bother with comenting on the Dem's and their Dream Canidate, lest I spew my 'manchurian candiate' theroy on the masses!!! What a smelly creek this country of ours us up, and nothing good to use as a paddle!!!
Jimmy T
P.S. I am so glad the Wings beat down those Pen's!!! What a series!!!
Jenny sez: A few years ago I had read we were going to get the Raptors at Cannon. But that was before the whole BRAC thing. Nice looking plane.
ReplyDeleteI think I remember that, too. There was a LOT of speculation prior to USAF releasing the basing plan for the F-22.
Susan and Cynthia: I'm with you, obviously. I don't get the Obama thing, either. Totally.
Amy and Ashley: Agreed...in spades!
Lou sez: A high school counselor once told me that there were over 200 different intellects to measure the IQ, but our test only measured 20 of them – the 20 we deem most important in our society. Very interesting!.
Your points preceding this quote were on-point and SO apt, Lou. I've known folks like that, too. As for the IQ thingie... I never knew that. Thanks!
Jimmy T sez: I only ask, where is the threat that we counter with this?
and
I am so glad the Wings beat down those Pen's!!! What a series!!!
Well, to begin with... there's the SU-35. If and when the Rooshians export it to whomever is ready to buy... I'm thinking Iran, maybe, or China... then the threat materializes. Besides, we've always preferred overwhelming advantage to parity, right?
What a series, INDEED! Just... WOW!
What the HELL is wrong with these people?
ReplyDeleteThey value unity over a true sense of purpose. They think strategically only when facing down the opposition immediately across the table, failing to think down the road toward bigger and more important skirmishes (like with N. Kor and Iran).
Team team team...hooray for our side.
It's exactly what you do when you watch Hockey. The difference is, when you watch a leisure sport, that kind of thinking and that kind of behavior is appropriate. You, essentially, blow off steam the same way these people live out their "real" lives.
I think if you can live out a life but remain relatively inexperienced in real work...or in real play...this is an easy trap. We form the ability to maintain a clear distinction between work & play, as it becomes necessary for us to do so. You got it done. They didn't.
That's the most charitable explanation I can provide.
I'm a few days late responding to this one ... but I want to thank you for posting some of the Bill Bennett comments. He is saying JUST what I have been thinking .... how could a man like Obama rise to the place where he is now? And how could so many people let this happen?
ReplyDeleteI don't know whether to bury my head in the sand for the rest of the election season, or watch the nightmare that is ahead. I wish I felt somewhat hopeful, but I sure don't. This is a grim time.
Morgan sez: That's the most charitable explanation I can provide.
ReplyDeleteCharitable, indeed. I think they're freakin' afflicted, not to mention cognitively-impaired.
Sharon sez: I don't know whether to bury my head in the sand for the rest of the election season, or watch the nightmare that is ahead. I wish I felt somewhat hopeful, but I sure don't. This is a grim time.
Grim time, indeed. I'm tempted to quote that ol' saying about how we've survived incompetents in the past (Carter comes to mind...), but this is such a CRITICAL time in our history...
But, I'll watch. I'll participate, too. Ya know what scares me the MOST? All this "I'll stay home" talk, and secondly the "I'll vote for an independent..." from the right. That's enabling Obama, pure and simple. And if you're OK with that... well, you need your freakin' head examined.