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Ramblings From the Ragged Crumbling Edge Of The Reality-Based Community

Thursday, December 01, 2005

That Didn't Last Very Long 

...yes, it was just yesterday that George W. Bush was standing in front of another of those helpful "send the message" backdrops that he apparently can't function without, saying that one of the strengths of our democracy was that people were able to disagree about things like, oh...say...the prosecution of the war in Iraq. Sadly, for those of us who still worry about Santa trying to get down the chimney when mom insists on having the fireplace going like an oil well blowout all night on Christmas Eve, it appears that either A) he didn't really mean all that stuff, or 2) Scotty Mac was trapped in some Naval Academy bathroom stall during the balance of Gee Dub's speech. Clearly, given Scotty's little tantrum today about the comments of such supporters of American democracy as John Kerry, there are at least some corners of Bushworld where name-calling in service to shutting up critics is still also considered a strength of democracy...

(more on the backside)


...the basic problem is that criticism of the administration is not going to be seen by that administration as an exchange of ideas. So when various public figures, primarily Democrats, make the perfectly honest and reasonable observation that Gee Dub's so-called major speech about his so-called strategy for victory in Iraq is neither the expression of any particular strategy than is any way measurable nor anything more than a reiteration of the whole garbage can full of meaningless claptrap that Gee Dub and his virtual VW Beetle full of clowns has been living off of for the last three years, the only reponse offered is not a strong counterpoint about how yes it is so a meaningful strategy but instead more of the same old sad name-calling. But there's a problem, and it's called "bad poll numbers". Bushco isn't anything approaching the juggernaut that it was in its early exciting years when there were slurs to cast and swing voters to swing. Today's political landscape is a harsh, unforgiving environment for the White House and there are some big meat-eaters roaming around on that difficult terrain that don't have any particular fear of either the bark or the bite of Gee Dub's attack dogs.

OK, one has to admit that Joe Biden may not be the best example of this new breed living near the top of the food chain, but Biden has - gripped by his most recent desire to Be The President - apparently fallen under the thrall of some strange coalition of political advisors who would make the Three Stooges in the heart of a meth frenzy look like calm rational humans. John Murtha would be a much better example. Decorated veteran, respected expert on military matters, Murtha took on not only the White House and Congressional Republican watercarriers but also - it would appear - the confused fearful remnants of what will hopefully become the Old Democrats when he famously called for a withdrawal sooner rather than later from Iraq. After the loud reverberations of scurrying of Democratic feet fleeing Murtha's proximity with the desperation of cockroaches escaping the light began to fade away, and after being called everything up to and including a coward by hacks and losers who haven't earned the right to address him in any manner exept "Mr. Murtha, Sir", he's still at it, spelling out in specific terms what the Bush Monkeys would really rather nobody actually talked about. Along with everything else, he came close to dope-slapping Melissa Block on NPR's "All Things Considered" this evening, making it clear that we do not get a clear picture of what's going down in Iraq because commanders are afraid to speak the truth for fear of career repercusions. Tomorrow, no doubt, he will be chastised by soft, pudgy Scotty Mac as being a polyp on the hindside of American and accused by Jean Schmidt of having compounded his cowardice by consorting carnally with barnyard animals owned by close associates of Osama bin Laden...

That's the way the game is played; there isn't any such thing as an honest debate - in the classic sense - where a challenge is met directly with proof as refutation. All that suffices is insults and attacks, even in cases where a challenge is appropriate such as this one, and those insults and attacks serve no other purpose than to silence opposition. The only saving grace for those who object to the actions of Gee Dub and his merry band with regard to Iraq is that the majority of Americans are finally paying enough attention to details that a meaningless speech coupled with shouted insults at those who dispute the basic facts and points of said speech that being called "soft on terror" or "traitorous" are things that don't have much traction anymore. Far too many people hear the various objections to the speech (forget Biden, OK?) and then - in the face of the Bush Monkey attacks - think to themselves "hmm, I was thinking the same thing"...

It sounded for a moment yesterday like Gee Dub was sending a signal to his troops and America that debate about how things are going in Iraq was a legitimate American right. Apparently the sort of debate they had in mind didn't include criticism of the so-called approach his speech was laying out. Maybe what he meant by debate was the color selection for the backdrop behind his podium...
Posted by: Jack K. / 8:09 PM 3 comments

Snow Day 

...no school today for the kids. No work to day for Mrs. Jack K. and I (hazardous weather policy: when schools are closed, the office is closed). Both are unusual events, since this is snow country and folks are presumed capable of handling winter weather. There are days, however, when enough is enough, and this is one of those days; snow began falling sometime after 7:00 last night is still falling heavily this morning. A good 8 inches of snow lays on top of the 8 inches that came on Monday, and we are under a heavy snow warning for another 7 or so inches through the day. The family car is disappearing, my Jeep Wrangler looks like an igloo, only the large gas-guzzler 4x4 pickup appears a likely choice for travel today, and a glance out the window suggests nothing more than a crackling fire in the woodstove, hot chocolate, and a good book...

...its a profoundly mixed blessing, though. The snow plow guy better show up pretty soon before too many cars drive on our road, or there will be serious problems down the road when all that compacted snow starts to soften and melt (the wife's little commuter car has spent a day or two in the local grocery store parking lot in the past when it could make it home through the breaking-up slush snowpack). The kiddies' hopes for a day of raw indolence is being interrupted by the need to shovel off about 500 square feet of decks - along with runs for the dogs - and somebody (and I think I know who) has to lash himself to that big black ugly monster of a snow blower hunkered in the garage and put in an hour or two clearing out all that driveway that seemed so necessary back in the day. A hint to someone thinking of buying some land and putting a home on it: don't set the garage back 50 feet behind the house. Since the weather dudes claim this is going to keep up all day, it may be a case of lather, rinse, repeat. Right now, though, I need to go sweep off the satellite dish so I can make fun of all those cable news talking heads for awhile. The snow blower isn't going anywhere...
Posted by: Jack K. / 8:28 AM 0 comments

Wednesday, November 30, 2005

What Am I Missing Here? 

...the employees of the US Border Patrol are officially a bit hot under the collar, and it's all about that little tag under the collar of their uniform shirts. I will confess that, at first blush, it does appear passingly contradictory to be patrolling the Mexican border and chasing down Mexicans trying to sneak into this country while wearing uniform components made in Mexico. And I suppose that there is at least the hypothetical possibility that uniforms could fall into the wrong hands and we could suddenly find the border region awash with putative Border Patrol agents...

...on the other hand, there's a curious bit of selectivity about their employee union's concern about the nation of manufacture of their uniforms. Ford, General Motors, and Daimler-Chrysler all have manufacturing plants in Mexico that build just exactly the sorts of 4x4 pickups and SUV's that the Federal Government buys for off-highway use. There's a very good chance that Border Patrol office parking lots all across the border region are littered with fleet vehicles built south of the border down Mexico way. From a monetary standpoint alone, the vehicles are a bigger symbol than clothing, since one vehicle is equal to the uniform allowances for about 50 employees. It's not hard for the cynical sort to suspect that this may be to some extent an expression of union solidarity with the US garment industry, but if it is a legitimate beef, things are worse than they suspected. When they pull up on the scene, they are very possibly stepping out of a Mexican-manufactured vehicle in their Mexican-made uniforms to apprehend the Mexican residents who are trying to escape their Mexican poverty by sneaking across the border...

If Border Patrol employees are serious about expunging hypocracy from their work setting, it would seem like they would want to go all the way, making sure that suggested legislation require US manufacture for everything they wear, drive, or use...

Unless I'm missing something here...
Posted by: Jack K. / 9:37 AM 0 comments

Tuesday, November 29, 2005

One-Stop Shopping 

...if you have grown sufficiently tired of the way that media reports the news, if you feel that there is more than a grain of truth to the phrase "so-called Liberal Media" and would like to let them know that you disagree with the way they present the issues, or if you are just pissed off and would like to flame some soft, pudgy journalist butts, this is a site for you to bookmark. Courtesy of 'Fusioner' from the Grumpyforester mailbox, this is a list of email addresses, sample letters, and tips to ease your ability to reach out and give a dope-slap to somebody who desperately needs it...

...you know what to do...

(ignore "the backside"; it's something new I'm trying for extended posts. I'll tell ya when there's something there...)
Posted by: Jack K. / 7:45 AM 0 comments

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