The World Series Begins Tonight! (and Other Stuff)

This is disturbing: “Censoring Iraq… Why are there so few reporters with American troops in combat? Don't blame the media.” The Weekly Standard is hardly a left-wing, anti-war cheering section like, say, the NYT. And Michael Yon doesn’t work for Reuters or the AP; his bona-fides are much more than well-established. Yon has set the standard for reporting from the war zone with his on-line magazine. There’s no one better. No one. So when a guy like Yon writes something like this, it’s past time to pay attention:

My experiences with the U.S. military as a soldier and then as a writer and photographer covering soldiers have been overwhelmingly positive, and I feel no shame in saying I am biased in favor of our troops. Even worse, I feel no shame in calling a terrorist a terrorist. I've seen their deeds and tasted air filled with burning human flesh from their bombs. I've seen terrorists kill children while our people risk their lives to save civilians again, and again, and again. I feel no shame in saying I hope that Afghanistan and Iraq "succeed," whatever that means. For that very reason, it would be a dereliction to remain silent about our military's ineptitude in handling the press. The subject is worthy of a book, but can't wait that long, lest we grow accustomed to a subtle but all too real censorship of the U.S. war effort.

I don't use the word lightly. Censorship is a hand grenade of an accusation, and a writer should be serious before pulling the pin. Indeed, some war-zone censorship for reasons of operational security is obviously desirable and important. No one can complain when Delta Force will not permit an embed. In fact, I have turned down offers to embed with some Special Operations forces because the limitations on what I could write would not be worth the danger and expense. But we can and should complain when authorities willfully limit war reporting. We should do so whether it happens as a matter of policy, or through incompetence or bureaucratic sloth. The result is the same in any case. And once the matter has been brought to the attention of the military and the Pentagon--which I have quietly done--and still the situation is not rectified, it is time for a public accounting.

Read the whole thing. We absolutely, positively cannot tolerate incompetence on a scale like Yon describes, let alone allow it to exist. The stakes are much too high. Heads need to roll, beginning with Lt. Col. Barry Johnson, Director of the Combined Press Information Center in Baghdad, his boss, and maybe even his boss’s boss. We have no way of telling how high Yon has taken his complaints within the Pentagon, but a failure to act on their part is worse than incompetence. It’s negligence.

Hoo-Boy. I’m pissed.

Ah-HA! I KNEW it!! I’ve been going on about this subject for a long time, and articles and essays by David Horowitz have been my principal sources of information on the subject. But then along comes this:

A report released on Wednesday on the political views of faculty members accuses professors of liberal "groupthink," a stance that the report says puts them at odds with the beliefs of most Americans on national and international issues.

The report, by the Institute for Jewish & Community Research, was based on an online, nationally representative survey of 1,259 professors at four-year colleges and universities in the spring of 2005. It found that, in general, professors are critical of American business and foreign policy and are skeptical of capitalism.

Among other findings, the report, "A Profile of American College Faculty: Volume 1: Political Beliefs & Behavior," says that:

· Professors are three times as likely to call themselves "liberal" as "conservative." In the 2004 presidential election, 72 percent of those surveyed voted for John Kerry.

· Almost one-third of professors cite the United States as among the top two greatest threats to international stability -- more than cited Iran, China, or Iraq.

· Fifty-four percent of professors say U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East is partially responsible for the growth of Islamic militancy.

· Sixty-four percent say the government's powers under the USA Patriot Act should be weakened.

Professors, says the report, are at the "forefront of the political divide" over U.S. foreign policy that has developed since the 2001 terrorist attacks. Faculty members have "aligned themselves in direct opposition to the political philosophy of the conservative base voting for the prevailing political power" in America, it says. Unlike most Americans, it adds, faculty members "blame America for world problems" and regard U.S. policies as "suspect."

This in The Chronicle of Higher Education, no less. I’m not sure if this is good news or bad news, as it simply confirms what most of us already know. Will there be change? I doubt it. Academe’s tenure system protects and in some ways encourages the Lefties. There is a ray of hope, however. Some folks are getting pretty tired of the indoctrination and one-sided world views. The Horowitz-supported Students for Academic Freedom is one such organization. More power to ‘em.

It’s STILL bad in La France…from The Times Online (UK):

Before next week’s anniversary of the Clichy riots, the violence and despair on the estates are again to the fore. Despite a promised renaissance, little has changed, and the lid could blow at any moment.

The figures are stark. An average of 112 cars a day have been torched across France so far this year and there have been 15 attacks a day on police and emergency services. Nearly 3,000 police officers have been injured in clashes this year. Officers have been badly injured in four ambushes in the Paris outskirts since September. Some police talk of open war with youths who are bent on more than vandalism.

“The thing that has changed over the past month is that they now want to kill us,” said Bruno Beschizza, the leader of Synergie, a union to which 40 per cent of officers belong. Action Police, a hardline union, said: “We are in a civil war, orchestrated by radical Islamists.”

Unfortunately, the problem goes beyond the radical Islamists. I’m not saying radical Islamism isn’t the problem…it is the largest part of the problem. But there are contributory causes, as well, such as France’s general failure to integrate their Muslim population into the “mainstream,” and France’s socialistic economic policies. There are many reasons, lots of finger-pointing, but very little meaningful action to resolve the problem(s). Ergo, another explosion to follow. Shortly.

OK…enough bad news. There are football games to be watched, and the World Series begins this evening! This is my favorite time of year!! GO TIGERS!!

Today’s Pic: Once again, Former Happy Days…Three friends (co-workers) and YrsTrly at my EDS retirement party. September, 1999.

Beisbol and Other Games

Didja watch the NLCS last night? It doesn’t get a lot better than that… Game Seven, the best team in baseball (their record, anyway) fighting for their lives on home turf, the scrappy underdogs playing their hearts out, spectacular pitching, at least one God-like play, a game-winning home run, and the outcome in doubt all the way until the last out in the bottom of the ninth. Wow!

So. The Cardinals are on their way to Detroit. All the pundits are calling the series for Detroit, and most are saying this will be a short, very short series. Those predictions give me cause for worry (Hey! This is DETROIT—home of the inexplicable post-season collapse), but, yeah, I gotta agree. On paper, and on the field for both the Division series and the ALCS, the Tigers are and were impressive. They’re well-rested, too. Detroit in five, if not a sweep. Get ready for burning cars in Motown!

Words to the wise, from the New Hampshire Union-Leader:

Can anyone imagine a Democratic House passing a tough border control bill? The Republican House did that this year. Can anyone imagine a Democratic House passing tax cuts? The Republican House has done that year after year. Can anyone imagine a Democratic House approving legislation allowing U.S. forces to be more aggressive in the War on Terror? The Republican House did that this year.

Yes, Republicans have become profligate spenders. Yes, the leadership has lost its way. But nobody who favors limited government and strong foreign policy should be fooled into thinking that the party of Nancy Pelosi, Howard Dean and John Kerry will provide either.

In 1954 Republicans lost the House. It took them four decades to regain it. If conservatives stay home on Nov. 7, they might just cast themselves back into the wilderness for decades to come. Why would anyone take that chance?

What they said.

A keeper: “Anti-Americanisms,” by Peter J. Katzenstein and Robert O. Keohane. A very scholarly but accessible discussion of the varieties and origins of anti-American feelings throughout the world. It’s difficult to excerpt this essay, but I’ll give you this:

With several colleagues we recently completed a book, Anti-Americanisms in World Politics,[1] exploring these issues, and in this short article we discuss four of its themes. First, we distinguish between anti-Americanisms that are rooted in opinion or bias. Second, as our book's title suggests, there are many varieties of anti-Americanism. The beginning of wisdom is to recognize that what is called anti-Americanism varies, depending on who is reacting to America. In our book, we describe several different types of anti-Americanism and indicate where each type is concentrated. The variety of anti-Americanism helps us to see, third, the futility of grand explanations for anti-Americanism. It is accounted for better as the result of particular sets of forces. Finally, the persistence of anti-Americanism, as well as the great variety of forms that it takes, reflects what we call the polyvalence of a complex and kaleidoscopic American society in which observers can find whatever they don't like -- from Protestantism to porn. The complexity of anti-Americanism reflects the polyvalence of America itself.

One recognizes the veracity of the authors’ premises as one reads, especially if you’ve been personally exposed to anti-American arguments and biases at one time or another. Reminds me of some interesting political discussions I’ve had in bars and pubs around the world. This essay is something I’ll revisit from time to time in the future. (h/t: Real Clear Politics)

Song of the Day…As noted yesterday, Dylan’s two-disc Rolling Thunder Revue concert has been in the CD changer for nearly a week now, and has been this morning’s soundtrack as I’ve surfed and read. This song, particularly, has been played and re-played several times. The song, for whatever reason, has some sort of resonance today, far above and beyond its normal “favorite” status. Why? I don’t know. But here it is:

One More Cup of Coffee (Valley Below)
Originally released on “Desire,” 1976

Your breath is sweet
Your eyes are like two jewels in the sky.
Your back is straight, your hair is smooth
On the pillow where you lie.
But I don't sense affection
No gratitude or love
Your loyalty is not to me
But to the stars above.

One more cup of coffee for the road,
One more cup of coffee 'fore I go
To the valley below.

Your daddy he's an outlaw
And a wanderer by trade
He'll teach you how to pick and choose
And how to throw the blade.
He oversees his kingdom
So no stranger does intrude
His voice it trembles as he calls out
For another plate of food.

One more cup of coffee for the road,
One more cup of coffee 'fore I go
To the valley below.

Your sister sees the future
Like your mama and yourself.
You've never learned to read or write
There's no books upon your shelf.
And your pleasure knows no limits
Your voice is like a meadowlark
But your heart is like an ocean
Mysterious and dark.

One more cup of coffee for the road,
One more cup of coffee 'fore I go
To the valley below.

Ah, Bobby. I owe you so much!

Today’s Pic: Riotous color in a Santa Fe outdoor market - June, 2004. As always, click the pic for the larger version. In this case, you most definitely should look at the larger pic.

A Few Good Things

This is semi-interesting, in that very brief and pithy Forbes sort of way: The Average American: 1967 And Today. But I’m gonna call “bullshit,” right off the bat:

Mr. and Mrs. Median's $46,326 in annual income is 32% more than their mid-'60s counterparts, even when adjusted for inflation, and 13% more than those at the median in the economic boom year of 1985. And thanks to ballooning real estate values, average household net worth has increased even faster. The typical American household has a net worth of $465,970, up 83% from 1965, 60% from 1985 and 35% from 1995. (emphasis mine)

“Net worth,” means “assets minus liabilities.” I find it impossible—not difficult, impossible—to believe the typical American household has a net worth over $450,000.00. That’s bullshit, pure and simple. Still and even, the article is interesting for some of the demographic pictures it draws.

The fact is that in real terms, the Medians are doing great. Mr. Median makes 25% more than his father did 30 years ago, even after holding for inflation. Mrs. Median is a lot more likely to work in the professional ranks than her mom was, and to be paid about three times as much doing so. And though she still makes only 77% of what her male counterparts earn, this is up from 33% in 1965. They dote on the same number of children (two), but waited longer to have them, until both careers are well under way. They also pay less tax to the federal government and have 8% more purchasing power than they did 20 years ago, including 5.7% more than they had just ten years ago.

We’ve come a long way, Baby!

John Yoo has written a good op-ed in the WSJ on the Detainee and Military Commissions bill the President signed into law yesterday. Excerpts:

Until the Supreme Court began trying to make war policy, the writ of habeas corpus had never been understood to benefit enemy prisoners in war. The U.S. held millions of POWs during World War II, with none permitted to use our civilian courts (except for a few cases of U.S. citizens captured fighting for the Axis). Even after hostilities ended, the justices turned away lawsuits by enemy prisoners seeking to challenge their detention. In Johnson v. Eisentrager, the court held that it would not hear habeas claims brought by alien enemy prisoners held outside the U.S., and refused to interpret the Geneva Conventions to give new rights in civilian court against the government. In the case of Gen. Tomoyuki Yamashita, the court refrained from reviewing the operations of military commissions.

In Hamdan, the court moved to sweep aside decades of law and practice so as to forge a grand new role for the courts to open their doors to enemy war prisoners. Led by John Paul Stevens and abetted by Anthony Kennedy, the majority ignored or creatively misread the court's World War II precedents. The approach catered to the legal academy, whose tastes run to swashbuckling assertions of judicial supremacy and radical innovations, rather than hewing to wise but boring precedents.

[…]

This time, Congress and the president did not take the court's power grab lying down. They told the courts, in effect, to get out of the war on terror, stripped them of habeas jurisdiction over alien enemy combatants, and said there was nothing wrong with the military commissions. It is the first time since the New Deal that Congress had so completely divested the courts of power over a category of cases. It is also the first time since the Civil War that Congress saw fit to narrow the court's habeas powers in wartime because it disagreed with its decisions.

Since we here at EIP always attempt to be fair and balanced, here’s a link to an opposing viewpoint. Marty Lederman writes an extensive rebuttal to Professor Yoo’s op-ed, which may or may not interest you. Mr. Lederman is one of those folks who believe terrorists deserve the protection afforded by the Geneva Conventions and should enjoy access to US courts. I think he’s as wrong as two boys holding hands, but you may not. (hat tip to The Volokh Conspiracy for the Lederman link.)

It seems like I stumble upon the good things in life quite by accident most of the time. Such was the case when I came upon one of only four Starbucks Hear Music coffeehouses while in San Antonio. I was making my way up Crockett Street on the way back to the hotel last Thursday evening and was passing by a Starbucks store. I idly glanced in the window and saw lots and lots of CD bins, something out of the ordinary for your average Starbucks. I went in. And was amazed.

A clerk came over and asked if I had ever been in the store before. “No,” sez I. “Well, let me explain,” sez he. And he gave me the dirt: You can sit yourself down at a computer terminal and search Starbucks’ music database for any title that comes into your mind. If and when you find the album/CD you’re looking for, you can then slip on a set of headphones and listen to the entire CD, free of charge. Not snippets of songs, not “selected” tracks, but the entire album. Let’s say you like what you hear. You can go to the CD bins, pick it out and buy it. Ooops! They’re out of stock! Not a problem, The friendly Starbucks clerk will burn you a CD right there on the spot (from their on-line music archive) and sell it to you…and the artist gets credit for the sale. What a freakin’ concept! Needless to say, I could spend hours in a store like that.

Alas, time was short that evening. I was waiting for Buck to call after his banquet and we were going to go out and spend our last night on the town, so I had to get back to the hotel. I bought some new music (the latest Dylan album [Modern Times], a two-disc Dylan set from the 1975 Rolling Thunder tour, and a Sonny Landreth album) and walked out. But, oh do I ever wish I had access to that Hear Music store…

And continuing on the music theme… That Rolling Thunder set has been in the CD changer since I got back from San Antonio, and wow, is it ever good! Here’s the track list:

Disc One

1. Tonight I'll Be Staying Here With You
2. It Ain't Me, Babe
3. A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall
4. The Lonesome Death Of Hattie Carroll
5. Romance In Durango
6. Isis
7. Mr. Tambourine Man
8. Simple Twist Of Fate
9. Blowin' In The Wind
10. Mama, You Been On My Mind

Disc Two

1. It's All Over Now, Baby Blue
2. Love Minus Zero/No Limit
3. Tangled Up In Blue
4. The Water Is Wide
5. It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry
6. Oh, Sister
7. Hurricane
8. One More Cup Of Coffee (Valley Below)
9. Sara
10. Just Like A Woman

1975 just might have been the best year of my life. I turned 30, was living in Tokyo, and was traveling all over the Pacific Rim, having the time of my life. I also met and fell in love with TSMP that Fall…who was a big Dylan fan, once upon a time (she still may be, I dunno). So, all these tunes I’ve been listening to this week bring back some astounding memories. And they’re ALL good.

Today’s Pic: On the Kennebec River - Bath, Maine. June, 2005.

Middle Wife

From my Buddy Ed in Florida, a story too good not to share:

"Middle Wife" by an Anonymous 2nd grade teacher

I've been teaching now for about fifteen years. I have two kids myself, but the best birth story I know is the one I saw in my own second-grade classroom a few years back.

When I was a kid, I loved show-and-tell. So I always have a few sessions with my students. It helps them get over shyness and usually, show-and-tell is pretty tame. Kids bring in pet turtles, model airplanes, pictures of fish they catch, stuff like that. And I never, ever place any boundaries or limitations on them. If they want to lug it in to school and talk about it, they're welcome.

Well, one day this little girl, Erica, a very bright, very outgoing kid, takes her turn and waddles up to the front of the class with a pillow stuffed under her sweater.
She holds up a snapshot of an infant. "This is Luke, my baby brother, and I'm going to tell you about his birthday."

"First, Mom and Dad made him as a symbol of their love, and then Dad put a seed in my Mom's stomach, and Luke grew in there. He ate for nine months through an umbrella cord."

She's standing there with her hands on the pillow, and I'm trying not to laugh and wishing I had my camcorder with me. The kids are watching her in amazement.

"Then, about two Saturdays ago, my Mom starts saying and going, 'Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh!' Erica puts a hand behind her back and groans. "She walked around the house for, like an hour, 'Oh, oh, oh!' Now this kid is doing a hysterical duck walk and groaning.

"My Dad called the middle wife. She delivers babies, but she doesn't have a sign on the car like the Domino's man. They got my Mom to lie down in bed like this." Then Erica lies down with her back against the wall.

"And then, pop! My Mom had this bag of water she kept in there in case he got thirsty, and it just blew up and spilled all over the bed, like psshhheew!" This kid has her legs spread with her little hands miming water flowing away. It was too much!

"Then the middle wife starts saying 'push, push,' and 'breathe, breathe. They started counting, but never even got past ten. Then, all of a sudden, out comes my brother. He was covered in yucky stuff that they all said it was from Mom's play-center, so there must be a lot of toys inside there."

Then Erica stood up, took a big theatrical bow and returned to her seat. I'm sure I applauded the loudest. Ever since then, when it's show-and-tell day, I bring my camcorder, just in case another "Middle Wife" comes along.

Another placeholder this is, and a dangerous one, at that. (This, that?) I'm posting before the coffee is done. I just now woke up and the only thing I've done is fire up the coffee and check the overnight mail. And post this.

More in a bit...

Studies, Surveys, and Chilly Weather

Read this: 655,000 War Dead? A bogus study on Iraq casualties.

After doing survey research in Iraq for nearly two years, I was surprised to read that a study by a group from Johns Hopkins University claims that 655,000 Iraqis have died as a result of the war. Don't get me wrong, there have been far too many deaths in Iraq by anyone's measure; some of them have been friends of mine. But the Johns Hopkins tally is wildly at odds with any numbers I have seen in that country. Survey results frequently have a margin of error of plus or minus 3% or 5%--not 1200%.

The group--associated with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health--employed cluster sampling for in-person interviews, which is the methodology that I and most researchers use in developing countries.

[…]

However, the key to the validity of cluster sampling is to use enough cluster points. In their 2006 report, "Mortality after the 2003 invasion of Iraq: a cross-sectional sample survey," the Johns Hopkins team says it used 47 cluster points for their sample of 1,849 interviews. This is astonishing: I wouldn't survey a junior high school, no less an entire country, using only 47 cluster points.

With so few cluster points, it is highly unlikely the Johns Hopkins survey is representative of the population in Iraq. However, there is a definitive method of establishing if it is. Recording the gender, age, education and other demographic characteristics of the respondents allows a researcher to compare his survey results to a known demographic instrument, such as a census.

Dr. Roberts said that his team's surveyors did not ask demographic questions. I was so surprised to hear this that I emailed him later in the day to ask a second time if his team asked demographic questions and compared the results to the 1997 Iraqi census. Dr. Roberts replied that he had not even looked at the Iraqi census.

The author of this op-ed, Steven E. Moore, is a political consultant with Gorton Moore International and trained Iraqi researchers for the International Republican Institute from 2003 to 2004. He also conducted survey research for the Coalition Forces from 2005 to 2006. I’d say he has the experience and the credentials to know from whence he speaks. Mr. Moore closes with this comment:

Public-policy decisions based on this survey will impact millions of Iraqis and hundreds of thousands of Americans. It's important that voters and policy makers have accurate information. When the question matters this much, it is worth taking the time to get the answer right.

Hoo-boy, is that ever an understatement! I remember reading the survey, and the reactions to same, when it was released recently. It’s good to see someone step up and debunk what is obviously a flawed effort on the part of the Johns Hopkins survey team. I’ll leave the subject of underlying motivations/agenda of the JH survey team aside, but I’m pretty sure I know what they were.

This should give you a laugh… Human species 'may split in two' (or, “Slow News Day at The Beeb”)

Humanity may split into two sub-species in 100,000 years' time as predicted by HG Wells, an expert has said.

Evolutionary theorist Oliver Curry of the London School of Economics expects a genetic upper class and a dim-witted underclass to emerge.

[…]

Physical appearance, driven by indicators of health, youth and fertility, will improve, he says, while men will exhibit symmetrical facial features, look athletic, and have squarer jaws, deeper voices and bigger penises.

Women, on the other hand, will develop lighter, smooth, hairless skin, large clear eyes, pert breasts, glossy hair, and even features, he adds. Racial differences will be ironed out by interbreeding, producing a uniform race of coffee-coloured people.

Well, following the theories postulated by this “study,” I’d say the process has already begun. Here in America we have Democrats and Republicans. The latter, of course, are mostly beautiful, intelligent and well-formed examples of humanity (with “bigger penises,” presumably). I’ll leave you to speculate on the qualities of the former, but rampant Bush Derangement Syndrome is bound to have evolutionary effects. Just sayin’.

What would we do without studies? US full of Internet addicts: study.

According to preliminary research, the typical Internet addict was a single, college-educated, white male in his 30s, who spends approximately 30 hours a week on non-essential computer use.

Oh…I’m OK. My computer use is essential and I’m waaay over 30. No prob. I think.

So, apropos of nothing, I’m speculating the weather is the reason I was so long abed this morning. It was 47 degrees outside when I woke up this morning and not much warmer inside El Casa Móvil De Pennington. I didn’t turn on the heat before retiring last evening/this morning. So, in other words, it was perfect weather/temperature to pull the covers up around my ears and drift back into sleep. Which I did, repeatedly. The coffee’s been consumed, the ‘net has been surfed (although there’s still much to be done in this category…it’s never ending), and the weather hasn’t improved a whit. A perfect sort of day to catch up on my reading.

Today's Pic

The altar and the view beyond, St. Philips Episcopal church, Tucson, AZ. February, 2004. From the church’s website:

Worshippers are continually inspired by views from the twelve-foot arched window that opens from the sanctuary on to the desert and the Santa Catalina Mountains beyond. The buildings and gardens of St. Philip's have long drawn the attention and admiration of artists and visitors.

This is a placeholder post. Life is back to what passes for “normal” around these parts. I got up at 1115, poured my first cup at 1130 and the second at 1155. I’m caffeinated enough to post a picture. I think.

Back in a few.

Mostly Good News...

This is good news: Venezuela Is Denied Security Council Seat. Venezuela’s UNSC seat has been denied for the time being, and voting continues today for the seat allocated to the South American region. I suppose that if Chavez couldn’t get the required two thirds majority vote in the first ten rounds of voting, then there’s no reason to believe his prospects will improve in subsequent votes. All in all, Venezuela’s failure to obtain a UNSC seat is a very good thing. We have serious issues with the Security Council now, what with our “friends” Russia, China, and France opposing us at every turn. Adding a bona fide nut-case regime to the mix would be (additional) grounds to withdraw from the UN.

Mark Steyn has a new book (America Alone: The End of the World as We Know It) and the New York Post favors us with an excerpt.

When you look at it that way, the biggest globalization success story of recent years is not McDonald's or Microsoft but Islamism. The Saudis took what was not so long ago a severe but peripheral strain of Islam - practiced by Bedouins in the middle of a desert miles from anywhere - and successfully exported it to Jakarta and Singapore and Alma-Ata and Grozny and Sarajevo and Lyons and Bergen and Manchester and Ottawa and Dearborn and Falls Church. It was a strictly local virus, but the bird flew the coop.

And now, instead of the quaintly parochial terrorist movements of yore, we have the first globalized insurgency.

As a bleary Dean Martin liked to say, in mock bewilderment, at the start of his stage act: "How did all these people get in my room?" How did all these jihadists get rooms in Miami and Portland and Montreal? How did we come to breed suicide bombers not just in Gaza but in Yorkshire?

Looks like I have an addition to my reading list…

More good news… Denis MacShane, Labour MP (ed: Member of Parliament) for Rotherham, writing in The Telegraph (UK):

At long last, the debate on Islamism as politics, not Islam as religion, is out in the open. Two weeks ago, Jack Straw might have felt he was taking a risk when publishing his now notorious article on the Muslim veil. However, he was pushing at an open door. From across the political spectrum there is now common consent that the old multicultural emperor, before whom generation of politicians have made obeisance, is now a pitiful, naked sight.

The 10,000 Muslims in my constituency of Rotherham can only benefit from removing the dead hand of ideological Islamism – allowing their faith to be respected and their children to flourish in a Britain that finally wakes up to what must be done. Despite the efforts of extremists to prevent any sort of rational debate about the place of Islam in Britain, it is at last happening.

And it’s about time. The Right Honorable Mr. MacShane has more than a few valid points in his essay, not the least of which are the contributions of out-of-control multi-culturalism, moral relativism, and the arcane British bureaucracy to the current situation. One hopes that it’s not too late…

Mundane notes on life…

I nuked not one, but three bags of popcorn last evening. As it’s said: the third time’s the charm. The first two bags were burnt beyond recognition but at least they weren’t reduced to an actual flaming mess. It was all part of getting used to the settings on the new microwave. There’s a “popcorn” button on the new nuker, and I used it. Two minutes and ten seconds wasn’t enough, so I increased the time in 30 second increments until I got it right, after the aforementioned failures. Turns out that 2:30 is the appropriate setting.

My old microwave died last month (on the 26^th, to be precise) and I finally replaced it this past weekend. If you’re wondering what took me so long, it’s all because the wonderful folks at Forest River (the manufacturer of my RV) installed an odd-sized microwave in a non-standard space above the range. It would have cost me $350.00 to replace the nuker with a drop-and-insert, turn key installation from Forest River. Three-hundred-fifty-frickin’ dollars for an $85.00 (or less, much less) microwave, do you believe it? Esthetics mean a lot to me, but not to the tune of $350.00! So…I looked. I shopped. Bottom line: no one builds a nuker that is precisely 19.25 inches wide, or even 19.5 inches, that will fit the available opening, which is precisely 19.75” wide. The industry standard for 1,000 watt microwaves appears to be 20” or 21”. So, I settled on an 18” 800 watt microwave that looks pretty damned clunky when installed. Oh, yeah: $49.99 at Best Buy, for a savings of three hundred dollars over the “custom” alternative. I can live with “clunky” and save $300.00.

Yesterday was a brilliant autumn day, High Plains style. Our high was 72 degrees, with a brilliant blue sky and light breeze. Today will be a re-run of yesterday, but it’s forecasted to be a tad warmer. I can live with this!

Today’s Pic: Stone Archways at the Alamo, 10/11/2006.

Bouguereau

Lileks wrote this today:

This was unknown to me: the new Denver Art Museum. It looks like a building devoted to the history of things your mother would not let you carry while running. It might come in handy if the earth is threatened by a giant balloon, but otherwise it is a perfect symbol of a culture that does not have the faintest clue what it stands for. I don’t mean our culture in general; I mean the culture of the curators of our artistic heritage. Really: this building is a warning. Within these walls you will find Lincoln Logs glued to a piece of plywood and titled “My Uncle, The Rapist.” The closest you’ll get to representative art – will be screaming popes! And you’ll like it! Of course, that’s not actually the case; the museum includes the old as well as the new. It even has a Bouguereau, although as usual they seem somewhat apologetic about it. For the record, I do think he’s sappy and sentimental, but at least he could paint. If I had to be in a cell with one painting for the rest of my life, I’d choose a Bouguereau over . . . well, this.

It has to be a masterpiece; it's ten feet wide.

What caught my eye was the Bouguereau reference (link), the first I’ve ever seen in a blog, or anywhere else that I can recall. And why did that catch my eye? Not because Bouguereau is a fave of mine, he’s not. No, it’s because when TSMP and I first moved to Detroit, we rented a house from a man who owned not one, not two, but three Bouguereau paintings. He was proud of the fact that the Detroit Institute of the Arts only had two. And what did this guy do, besides rent houses to recently retired military folks? He was a dentist. With a wife who had a big trust fund.

The good doctor did TSMP and I a favor two years into our rental agreement. He accelerated our house hunting with a phone call one evening, telling us we were going to have to move in two months time because he was selling the house we were renting. And why was he selling the house? He wanted to buy another Bouguereau.

TSMP and I moved into our new home a little more than a month later...

Mixed Emotions...

…about this:

The New York lawyer who was convicted of material support for terrorism after carrying messages for her client, terrorist sheik Omar Abdel Rahman, is scheduled to be sentenced today to as much as 30 years in prison.

She and her allies are pinning their hopes for leniency on a strategy that argues she became so emotionally involved in the sheik's case that she acted irrationally — a strategy that is underpinned by a sealed letter to the court from a psychiatrist.

[…]

Stewart was convicted in 2005 of providing material support for terrorism for passing on the messages Abdel Rahman gave her and her translator during visits with him in federal prison in Minnesota. Abdel Rahman, the spiritual leader of a terrorist group in Egypt, is serving a life term following his 1995 conviction in a conspiracy to blow up landmarks around New York. Following a conversation with Abdel Rahman in 2000, Stewart called a Reuters reporter in Cairo to say that Abdel Rahman had withdrawn his support from a ceasefire that his terrorist organization, the Islamic Group, was observing in Egypt.

On the one hand, I think the judge should throw the book at her. There’s more than enough justification for the maximum sentence…in addition to aiding and abetting a known terrorist, her reprehensible actions during the period of time between her indictment and sentencing should also be considered, to wit: her numerous appearances at International A.N.S.W.E.R rallies and other ultra-left-wing organizations. This article in FrontPageMag.com is revealing, and I’ll just quote it briefly:

Stewart shares the Communist beliefs of the WWP and IAC and the Center for Constitutional Rights. She is anti-capitalist and believes the USA is an imperialistic nation, and that anti-capitalist violence is justified. In a 1995 New York Times interview she said, "I don't believe in anarchistic violence, but in directed violence. That would be violence directed at the institutions which perpetuate capitalism, racism, and sexism, and at the people who are the appointed guardians of those institutions, and accompanied by popular support." Obviously, Stewart's worldview meshes seamlessly with that of Saddam Hussein, Yassir Arafat, the blind sheik and Osama Bin Laden. And with that of Deirdre Griswold Brian, Becker, Ramsey Clark and the Workers World Party.

Andrew McCarthy, the lead government prosecutor in the Blind Sheik case wrote an article in National Review that is well worth the read. McCarthy came to know Stewart very well, and admits he likes the woman. But he also believes the following:

There is something wrong with Lynne's brain. Obviously, she loves being a darling of the loony Left — a Left so loony it now makes common cause with theocratic, homo-phobic, misogynistic psycho-killers, since, after all, they too hate America. Nestled among this element, her humanity synapse disengages, such that she can spout about faraway terrorist kidnapping victims and other unknown civilians as legitimate targets with all the contemplative depth of a dinner companion asking you to pass the salt.

But she is not without humanity. What has happened to her here is very far from a tragedy — a tragedy is when someone unwittingly crosses the path of Abdel Rahman's ilk and is ruthlessly murdered for the great offense of being an American, or a Jew, or a Christian, or anything other than an Islamic militant. This is what Lynne Stewart promoted, and for that she must pay dearly. At 65, it may mean she pays with the rest of her life. Many will understandably celebrate that. I will pray she perceives that she has done enormous harm, and that the real civil rights she might have honored are those of the innocent victims of terror.

So, that’s the one hand. On the other is the fact that she is a 67 year-old woman recovering from breast cancer. I believe mercy is in order for this woman. She should receive the maximum sentence, true. But if I were the judge I’d suspend all but 90 days of the sentence, put her on probation and possibly house arrest, and order her to perform 1,000 hours of community service under the supervision and direction of the court. I’d also bar her from further public appearances on behalf of radical left-wing groups…but that might not be constitutionally legal.

Others with political views similar to mine do not agree…and those others include Gaius at Blue Crab Boulevard, Captain Ed, and Billy at Outside the Beltway.

Married? You're a Minority!

Well, now. This is interesting.

Married couples, whose numbers have been declining for decades as a proportion of American households, have finally slipped into a minority, according to an analysis of new census figures by The New York Times.

The American Community Survey, released this month by the Census Bureau, found that 49.7 percent, or 55.2 million, of the nation’s 111.1 million households in 2005 were made up of married couples — with and without children — just shy of a majority and down from more than 52 percent five years earlier.

The numbers by no means suggests marriage is dead or necessarily that a tipping point has been reached. The total number of married couples is higher than ever, and most Americans eventually marry. But marriage has been facing more competition. A growing number of adults are spending more of their lives single or living unmarried with partners, and the potential social and economic implications are profound.

And why is this?

“It’s the legacy of the boomers that have finally caused this tipping point,” Dr. Frey said. “Certainly later generations have followed in boomer footsteps, with high levels of living together before marriage, and more flexible lifestyles. But the boomers were the trailblazers, once again, rebelling against a norm their parents epitomized.

“This would seem to close the book on the Ozzie and Harriet era that characterized much of the last century,” he said.

Those frickin’ Boomers…always upsetting the apple cart. But the comment is nonetheless true. There is absolutely no stigma associated with light housekeeping any longer. Well, that’s not entirely true. The ex-girlfriend adamantly maintained we weren’t living together, even though three drawers of her dresser were filled with my clothes, my toiletries occupied 10% of her medicine cabinet, and my car was parked in her garage every night. But I maintained a separate residence and received my mail there, so, technically, she was right. There was something in her reality that rejected the concept of “living together.” I didn’t have a problem with it, and have often wondered just who she was kidding. Certainly not her friends, family, or her business associates. It was pretty clear what our living arrangements were…

All that said, speaking strictly for YrsTrly, I will not marry again. There’s a possibility, however slight, I may meet someone I want to share life with and if that happens I’ll opt for light housekeeping. My reason, and there’s but one, is I refuse to be a three-time loser. I view two unsuccessful marriages as my greatest failing in life. Three failures would be totally unacceptable. And the 50-50 odds of a successful marriage just don’t cut it with me.

The USAF Memorial

A soldier can walk the battlefields where he once fought; a Marine can walk the beaches he once stormed; but an airman can never visit the patch of sky he raced across on a mission to defend freedom. And so it's fitting that, from this day forward, the men and women of the Air Force will have this memorial, a place here on the ground that recognizes their achievements and sacrifices in the skies above.

President Bush, October 14, 2006

Finally. After nearly 15 years of inter-service squabbles, court fights, two approved locations, and months of construction, the United States Air Force has a memorial. Up until yesterday, the Air Force was the only armed service without a memorial. No longer.

President Bush and a host of other dignitaries, including Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld, the Secretary of the Air Force, the USAF Chief of Staff, the Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force, and hundreds of their predecessors, attended yesterday’s dedication ceremony. The dedication ceremony included fly-bys of historic aircraft and was capped by the USAF Thunderbirds performing their signature bomb burst maneuver, which was the inspiration for the monument’s design.

And speaking of the design…

James Ingo Freed, one of America’s finest architects, gave the nation a design that truly honors the men and women of the Air Force. Featuring three stainless steel spires that soar skyward, the tallest reaching a height of 270 feet, the Memorial’s design is truly representative of flight and the flying spirit of the Air Force. The three spires impart a sense of accomplishment in command of the sky, and evoke the image of the precision “bomb burst” maneuver performed by the United States Air Force Thunderbird Demonstration Team.

The three spires also represent the three core values of the Air Force - integrity first, service before self, and excellence in all that is done - and the Air Force’s total force - active, guard and reserve.

Embedded in granite beneath the three central spires is the Air Force "star," which has long been emblazoned on Air Force aircraft and serves as the rank insignia of every enlisted member of the Air Force. Other key elements of the Memorial include a Runway to Glory at the site entrance, a bronze Honor Guard statue developed by the renowned sculptor, Zenos Frudakis, two granite inscription walls located at either end of the central lawn and a Glass Contemplation Wall that honors fallen airmen.

I’ve got to go there…I just have to. A new addition to the “to-do” list.

Links:
President Bush’s address.
AP News Release
Air Force Memorial Foundation home.
The Memorial’s Texas Connection(s).
AF.mil Memorial stories and photos.

(Photo credits: Memorial and Falcon - Reuters; Thunderbirds - White House photo)

Home Again!

It’s good to be home. I had Big Fun in San Antonio…it was more than good to spend that much time with Buck, see the sights, meet new friends, do “big city” things and all that, but as the saying goes: “…be it ever so humble (and it is that), there’s no place like home!”

Random notes:

First and foremost…the thought occurred to me this morning: they ALL look so young! This regarding the appearance of every single one of Buck’s friends and peers, who are primarily Captains, First Lieutenants, and junior Majors. Even a few of the Lieutenant Colonels looked pretty young to me…A sign I’m getting way old, to be sure.

Rubbing elbows with “The Stars”… Buck returned to the room after the LOA banquet Thursday evening to change out of his Class A uniform into something more appropriate (read that: jeans and a tee shirt) for our final night on the town. We went down to the Menger bar to meet his buddy, gather up the gaggle and head out. Upon entering the bar Buck said “Wow! Not one, but two generals!” And sure enough, there was a two-star and a one-star standing at the end of the bar, along with a Lt Col and a Captain. Turns out Buck knows them both, and to make a long story short, Buck goes over and says “General Sullivan, I’d like to introduce my dad, retired Master Sergeant Buck Pennington…” So, we spend about five or six minutes shooting the bull with a couple of generals. It’s not the first time I’ve stood at the bar with a general, but it was the first time I stood with two of ‘em. Most interesting.

Which brings up the next point. Both generals made the obligatory “thank you for your service” comments almost immediately after the introductions were completed. I’m not quite sure how to address this without appearing to be both ungrateful and curmudgeonly, but I’m getting just a little bit tired of all this “thank you for your service” stuff, especially among and between members of the military community. It’s one thing to be on the receiving end of those comments when they come from a member of the civilian population who has never served, it’s quite another to get it from a fellow warrior. It’s difficult to put into words, as I said in my intro, but the “thanks for your service” thingie is acquiring the aura of “the politically correct thing to do.” At any rate, I find it a little, perhaps a lot, off-putting. A firm handshake, a knowing look, and perhaps a “where were you stationed?” would more than do the trick when coming from another military man or woman. Just sayin’, ya know.

OK, that said… I did exactly the same thing while at the Alamo. There was this young Army private first class, in uniform, there with her mother. (How do I know it was Mom? Because Mom’s tee shirt said “My daughter is a combat medic at Fort Sam Houston.”) I walked up to the PFC and said “I know you probably get tired of hearing this, but… thank you.” The private immediately extended her hand, looked me directly in the eye, shook my hand firmly and nodded. Her reaction, and her expression, led me to believe she felt exactly the same way I do. Perhaps if we just said “thank you,” rather than “thanks for your service,” that would be more than enough. And not so damned politically correct.

One thing that makes Texas unique (out of many things) is the number of state flags one sees flying. They’re literally everywhere…car lots, banks, schools, homes, businesses…everywhere. The Texas flag just might outnumber the US flags. As an example, I could see four Texas flags from my hotel window, and only two US flags. And that’s just the flag itself, and not the various representations of the state flag, be it on logos, in art of all sorts, on bumperstickers, tee shirts, and God-knows-what-else. I think that’s pretty cool. No, it’s way-cool. No where else…

Well. I must get my day under way. I have to remedy an act of stupidity I committed yesterday when I bought a new optical mouse for the computer. I bought a “notebook” mouse without realizing it’s a notebook mouse, which is to say the mouse cord is only about eight inches long, way too short to reach the USB connection on my computer, which sits under my table/desk. I don’t know if there’s such a thing as a USB extension cord, but I do know there are USB hubs, which I can sit on the desktop, plug the spiffy new mouse into, and plug the hub into the computer. This new mouse is going to be the most expensive mouse around, once I get done jury-rigging the connection to the computer. {sigh} It’s always sump’thin!

Today’s Pic: The back side of the Alamo, taken this past Wednesday.

Outta Here!

Abbreviated post today. Buck’s packing as I type and we’ll be on the road to P-Town in about 20 minutes or so.

I broke a cardinal rule of mine last night: never eat sushi when you’re over 200 miles from the ocean. But. I hadn’t had sushi since leaving SFO and there was this sushi bar within walking distance of the hotel, so… Forty dollars later the itch was wonderfully scratched. It was good.

More later when I’m back home.

Today’s Pic: The hostess at The Republic of Texas on the River Walk. Taken Tuesday or Wednesday.

The Alamo

I had an impromptu chat with a couple of ladies at the bar last evening and one posed the question “What’s the most impressive thing you’ve seen in San Antonio so far?” That’s a no-brainer: The Alamo.

While the facts surrounding the siege of the Alamo continue to be debated, there is no doubt about what the battle has come to symbolize. People worldwide continue to remember the Alamo as a heroic struggle against overwhelming odds — a place where men made the ultimate sacrifice for freedom. For this reason the Alamo remains hallowed ground and the Shrine of Texas Liberty.

“The Shrine of Texas Liberty.” And, of course, American liberty. Visiting the Alamo really is an emotional experience. Buck and I had a discussion night before last about the Alamo and we both tried, unsuccessfully, to name another American icon that is equal to the Alamo. The Statue of Liberty probably is close, but in our minds the Statue is a distant second.

I’ll digress briefly: one of my strongest childhood memories is of standing on the rail of the USNS Troopship (can’t remember the ship’s real name) as we sailed into New York harbor after being overseas for five years. I looked up at my Mom as the Statue of Liberty came into view and was surprised to see tears streaming down her cheeks. She tried to explain, but could not. She simply said “We’re home.” That’s impact.

I didn’t see anyone crying while I was at the Alamo yesterday, but I will admit that I was close a couple of times. After I signed the guestbook I spent about five or six minutes thumbing through those pages, going back about a week. People from all over the world—Asia, Africa, Europe, South America—and from every state in America signed the guest book. Just reading the origins of the visitors impressed me. The Alamo is more than an American icon, it’s an international shrine to Liberty. The legend is known worldwide. That, too, my friends, is impact.

For Lou

OK, Lou...here's your marg! The waitress asked if you had the large one or the small one. I said it was up to you...

At The Republic of Texas, Wednesday, 10/11/2006.

More Pics

A couple of pics of the "old" lobby at the Menger and a rain pic, all shot yesterday... The Menger lobby is quite elegant, no?

Life is Good!

Yesterday was a computer-free day, pretty much. I broke one of my primary rules, to wit: if you’re gonna blog, blog. Post every day. And I didn’t post. {sigh} What’s that they say? Rules are made to be broken?

Yesterday wasn’t all that good, weather-wise. It rained nearly all day, so that put a damper on most (but not all) outdoor activities. I used the day to check off a few items on my “big city” list…mostly (all) shopping related. I have a new watch band, several new tee shirts and a small supply of fine Partagas cigars, because I stumbled upon a great tobacconist with a well-stocked humidor room. Very friendly folks there, too. I spent about an hour there, chatting about cigars and other cultural stuff with the shop owner and his very lovely assistant. I also got my Zippo tuned up, which is a rather long story I won’t go into in great detail. Suffice to say the lighter works first time, every time, now. It didn’t used to…

The lovely assistant at the tobacconists also gave me a tip I’ll pass along to smokers who may be accosted by the TSA, such as I was this past June. If you are carrying a treasured Zippo (sound familiar?), don’t surrender the entire lighter…simply remove the lighter’s guts (which can be easily replaced by writing to Zippo) and hand them over to that friendly gub’mint agent, keeping the case for yourself. Simple solution, and I’ll admit I’m terribly embarrassed that the thought didn’t occur to me at the time.

So…time to hit the shower and get my day going.

Today’s agenda: coffee at Starbuck’s and the WSJ, followed with a trip across the street to the Alamo. Lunch somewhere and lotsa people watching. Life is good…

Today’s Pic: The gas fountain at Pat O’Brien’s, which mesmerized me. I have at least ten pics of this fountain. I took this one last evening.

Trip Report, Part One

The trip from P-Town to San Antonio was uneventful, but long. We got a later start than Buck wanted, but we made good time, arriving at the Menger around 2300 hours Central Time. Buck checked us in, we tipped the porter and gave him the key to the room and went straight to the bar for “a” beer.

Yeah, right.

One beer turned into three at the Menger Bar, which we closed down, being as how it was Sunday and they only stayed open until midnte. Out into the street and around the corner to Pat O’Brien’s, San Antonio division. Three more beers and we closed that place, too. It was a good thing we ran out of time, given the way I felt when I woke up this morning. I don’t think I’d have lived if we had had more time…

Poor Buck had to get up and go flog LOA shirts at the golf tournament, which, typical of military functions, began at oh-dark-thirty this morning. He got a grand total of four hours sleep. I, on the other hand, was finishing up my shower routine when he returned just after 1000. I probably would still have been asleep had not the maid barged in around 0930 and woke me up…

So…the rest of the day was spent exploring parts of the River Walk area and doing some serious people watching. (No alcohol was consumed, for obvious reasons.) To say I’m impressed with the River Walk is an understatement. What surprises me is the fact that there aren’t more venues similar to the River Walk in America. People watching is great sport, and the Europeans, especially the French and the Italians, understand this. Sidewalk cafés are everywhere in Europe, with the possible exception of the northern latitudes. The sidewalk café is virtually non-existent in America, on the other hand. I’ve never understood this…

Buck’s at his official “ice breaker” at the moment, but there’s more partying on tap after the ice breaker is done. Ya gotta love conventions, eh?

No news, no politics. While we were in the bar last evening I happened to see the Norks supposedly conducted their nuclear test. I haven’t followed up on that lil bit of news today, perhaps I will tomorrow. Or, perhaps not.

Today’s Pics: At Pat O’Brien’s last evening (note the “Last Call” message scrawled on the mirror) and a piece of the River Walk, today.

Signs O' the Times...Part I

Rib joint in Junction, Texas...just off I-10. I don't know this to be a fact, but it's a good marketing ploy, ain't it? That's the moon off to the right. Too bad I didn't have my tripod, because the moon was simply awesome orange...

More in a bit...

Happy Birthday Sam!

SN2 is 38 today. To say I’m proud of the boy is an understatement…

The pics: Sam as an enlisted sailor, 1988; his “official” portrait circa 1997; Sam and associates on board USS Monterey in or around the Gulf, 2004.

Short post today. Lots to do before SN1 arrives in a couple of hours and we get on the road to San Antonio.