Posted on Iraq

beware the media spin

don’t allow yourself to surrender to those who wish to be right about failure in iraq. don’t let yourself be lied to by the press about iraq and its constitution. read the current draft for yourself. think for yourself. that’s something america allows us to do. have faith in the process. it’s imperfect but president bush is committed to its completion.

You shall no longer take things at second or third hand, nor look through the eyes of the dead, nor feed on the spectres in books, You shall not look through my eyes either, nor take things from me, You shall listen to all sides and filter them from your self.
–Walt Whitman- “Song of Myself”

make your own decisions. don’t let the media spin you around. don’t allow yourself to give in to defeat. i believe the doom-and-gloom prophets will end up being wrong about iraq’s constitution. but there would be nothing surprising about that.

finally, here’s a different view of iraq’s constitution from the new york times. if i find more articles like this, i will post them.

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Posted on '08 Election, Conservatives, Republicans

another idea for the ’08 election

republicans are sometimes devoid of imagination and occasionally democrats are too — so i have decided to help them think outside the box for once. forget giuliani, frist, santorum, or all those other pretenders. this ticket is guaranteed to generate a buzz around the country. i’m talking about those great americans and genuinely good guys…ben stein and tucker carlson. think about it.

why ben stein?

  • he understands economics as well as greenspan
  • he is the smartest man in america.
  • fiscal and social conservative
  • great public speaker unlike president bush
  • he could finally dump that chauvinistic pig idiot jimmy kimmel.

why not?

  • he’s too smart to run
  • he would have less time to entertain the country

why tucker carlson?

  • the bowties — parents trust bowties and a lot of parents vote
  • would not be above playing a musical instrument on MTV to attract the important 18-29 demographic
  • he gets along with liberals too
  • would absolutely steal the conservative chick vote

why not?

  • he would need more bowties.
  • no more “cutting room floor” segments
  • no more willie geist
  • no more “situation”
  • less time to spend learning about brad, jen, and paris hilton

let’s not restrict ourselves to the party anointed ones and do something different for once — stein/carlson ’08!

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Posted on Iraq

good news

the u.s. army is exceeding its re-enlistment and first time enlistment goals, according to the new york post. bet that’s new information for some of us. the truth is out there. it will all be revealed in time. just keep believing and fighting for it. if you’re worried about the direction of the new iraqi constitution, there’s hope for you in the current draft text.

Update: according to cnn , the iraqi prime minister is hopeful about the new consitution.

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Posted on George W. Bush, Iraq

something i just have to say

i was watching the situation last night and i have to say that the opening comments by tucker carlson and monica crowley totally mirrored my feelings on iraq at this point. it’s easy to be frustrated and confused about iraq when good news is not readily available. i believe the american people understand the importance of supporting our military men and women and their families. i think that we also want to support our commander-in-chief as well. many of us voted for him. after 9/11, we appreciated his strong message toward the terrorists, leaving no doubt that he was willing and able to hunt them down and destroy them.

progress has been made in iraq and in the war on terror. the president needs to show us this. this is not something karl rove can do. this is not a job for conservative talk radio, the mainstream media, or even conservative blogs. it’s the president’s job to give us a good reason to keep trusting him. i hope he can…because public support is necessary to win any war.

success in iraq in my view doesn’t mean making their government and laws exactly like ours. if we say that the iraqis should decide their own future (and we actually mean it), then unfortunately we have little control over what they do with that future. there are countries with a large muslim population, like the UK for example, that don’t allow Islam to dictate their foreign policy. we could argue, i suppose, about the internal effects of radical islam to the UK, but that’s a debate for another day.

the new iraq should value the rights of everybody, including women. that would be the best scenario, but i don’t know how much the US can insist on while still allowing for the autonomy of the iraqi leadership. should the US push for those rights? YES, and the UN could make itself useful for once and facilitate the negotiation process between the opposing parties on the iraqi constitution. if we don’t want the iraqi government to be considered a puppet of the united states, then we should allow them to make their own choices. after all, that is what makes them an independent, self-determining country.

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Posted on George W. Bush, Iraq

the UN and freddie mitchell

the president needs to sell his iraq policy — not to the anti-war crowd, because they can’t be convinced (no matter how much new evidence is brought into the mix). he needs to sell his policy to his supporters who are finding that the “loony lefties” are starting to make more and more sense. that’s scary. if mr. bush has a vision, and concrete plans to back up that vision, it’s not unreasonable to share part of that plan with the american people who supported him and voted for him. this article in the american spectator makes a similar argument.

do i know for sure that iraq will end up stablized, pro-democracy, and a peaceful neighbor to other countries? no, i don’t. i’ll tell you what i do know. i trust our military. i trust president bush and his military advisors. i don’t trust the UN, who has totally screwed up the handling of saddam hussein’s iraq from the very beginning. in the immortal words from IMAO’s UN slogans: “if this is an emergency, please hang up and dial america”. the UN has dropped the ball on international affairs so often that they should no longer be carrying it. if this was pro football, the UN would be the equivalent of freddie mitchell — all hype and limited production.

cindy sheehan has a voice. air america has a voice (at least for now). the president needs to find his voice. it’s his responsibility to sell his iraq policy to us. i hope he can.

on a lighter note, here’s a great dilbert cartoon which is unfortunately very accurate, and one interesting way to fight high gas prices. for the record, i do not agree with everything on the IMAO site, but it’s all quite funny.

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Posted on Baseball

an actual sports post

can it be possible that the mets are still playoff-chasing, even though they are dead last in the nl east??? i can’t believe it either.

from the “this doesn’t happen very often” department — the mets are actually playing better than the yankees. wouldn’t it be awesome if the yankees missed the playoffs entirely? YES.

speaking of the evil empire (and i was), isn’t it obvious that the yankees are a prime example of capitalism run amok? even the free market can’t prevent age and injuries, george. heh.

take heart, devil rays fans. yes, it sucks to be you. but at least you’re not royals fans and you have former met prospect scott kasmir. thanks for zambrano, by the way. please take him back.

anyone else ignoring the NFL preseason? proof that pre-season means nothing? cleveland browns 2 and 0.

so the president doesn’t believe he was wrong about iraq? (i agree) will he admit to being wrong about MLB’s wild-card?

i see playoff chokes from the white sox, cardinals, and braves. i would see one from the yankees, except they will choke before the playoffs. the playoffs are wide-open in my view. everybody in has a shot…and one fatal flaw.

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Posted on Random Musings

freedom vs. intelligence

freedom, even in america, doesn’t mean you can do whatever you want. there has to be some rules. the speed limit. laws about not killing people and/or taking their stuff. laws keeping the government from taking your property without just cause (and no, building a new condo or strip mall doesn’t count as a just cause). laws that make it wrong for you to be under the influence of any intoxicant when driving. these are sensible rules. there’s nothing intrusive about keeping people from following their innate self-destructive behavior.

smoking cigarettes and cigars is harmful and totally legal. crystal meth, marijuana, crank, etc, are also dangerous and damaging, but not legal. addiction to tobacco affects you differently than crystal meth. as far as i’m aware, crystal meth and the other illegal drugs affect you mentally, which ends up being more dangerous than the slow death caused by tobacco use.

peter jennings was admired for the way he handled his cancer. the death of peter jennings deeply affected a few media types, including msnbc’s keith olbermann, to plead with viewers to quit smoking. it’s a worthy goal, and those who smoke should stop as soon as possible.

there was another death recently –that of hunter s. thompson. i never knew the man, but i’ve read the glowing reviews of his life and career. it’s tragic that a man who was so talented and creative would kill himself. the gun directly killed him. his lifestyle shortened his life considerably. i find it amazing that anyone can glorify this kind of lifestyle, when we see how that life turns out in the end. there are many calling for us to quit smoking. i’m still waiting for the anti-drug speech from thompson’s admirers and colleagues.

is it possible that we don’t take drug use as seriously as smoking in this culture? i think so. i also think that this view is a mistake. drug users are parodied in comedy sketches and made fun of for the stupid things they do because of the drugs. maybe we would rather laugh at them than seriously consider what we can do to keep them from destroying themselves. it’s in everyone’s best interest to help drug users break the cycle.

in my view, there is no good reason to take drugs. none. there is also no good reason to remove restrictions from people who want to destroy themselves. so, libertarians, defend yourselves on this one. good luck with that defense.

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Posted on Random Musings

stories that will never be on the front page in your newspaper

here are some of my favorite stories of the last few days. hard news has been officially banned from this blog post. read at your own risk.

China gives ‘web addicts’ shock treatment
the first internet addiction hospital –wave of the future?

Stone the cows? Russia uses pot as animal feed
you just can’t make this stuff up.

DB offers free beer to celebrate birthday
which doesn’t sound too bad until you find out what kinds of beer that includes

Man robbed on sidewalk – of $2 and McDonald’s breakfast
truly pathetic soul. but what we really want to know is –what was the guy having for breakfast?

World’s Worst Driver?
collecting 20 tickets after being freed from jail…words can’t describe the stupidity involved here.

What else would you do with 15 million ice cream sticks?
having too much free time is dangerous. here’s exhibit a.

Police seek diaper-clad man who pesters women
only in london, kids. only in london.

read and enjoy.

Posted on '08 Election, Random Musings

random thoughts on current events

here’s an unlikely pair teaming up in iowa — gov. vilsack of iowa and newt gingrich . gee…what’s newt doing in iowa? is he all of a sudden a fan of state fairs? 🙂

shocking news from the world of entertainment — deuce bigalow sequel fails to impress critics. here’s roger ebert’s scathing review . if you really value roger ebert’s view of all movies, read all the reviews here .

just wondering — when will america get over its fascination with bad movies and bad actors? i admit the application of the term is subjective. but we know them when we see them. speaking of bad actors…who missed pauly shore? anybody? even though he had a brief shining moment in encino man, his previous and future work should be fondly forgotten.

msnbc’s attractive and witty bow-tied pundit (otherwise known as tucker carlson) is taking some vicious licks from greenpeace , internet pollsters , and news wonks. rather unfair, if you ask me. i am, of course, totally objective and unbiased.

our favorite anti-war protester cindy sheehan plays hardball with chris matthews . draw your own conclusions.

do the republicans actually have any strong candidates to put up against the alleged democratic front-runner from new york? more on that later.

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Posted on Random Musings

AIDS in China

we all have our prejudices about AIDS– and the reason why it has started to spread across the world. in some corners of the world, specifically China, there are other contributing factors to this. in the current issue of the economist, the article “anatomy of an epidemic” brings some interesting new information to the debate. Read it here. for those who don’t want conservative or liberal filtering to world news…i highly recommend the economist. it’s worth the price.

i will refrain from commenting on the article here because it speaks for itself.

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