Crap, I missed this........I wanted to see it too.......

.....

Asteroid (4179) Toutatis to Pass Closely By Earth on Wednesday, September 29, 2004

Don Yeomans
Paul Chodas
NASA's Near Earth Object Program Office
September 27, 2004

Toutatis, a potato-shaped asteroid about 4.6 km (3 miles) in its longest extent, will pass within 1,550,000 km (963,000 miles) of the Earth's center on Wednesday, September 29, 2004 - reaching its closest approach at 13:35:28 GMT (06:35:28 PDT). This is roughly four times the distance from the Earth to the moon and closer than this asteroid has come to Earth since at least the twelfth century. Toutatis will not pass this closely again for the next 500 years. The passage is the closest Earth approach this century for a known asteroid of this size. Because of an extensive set of optical and radar observations, the orbit for Toutatis is one of the best determined of any asteroid and there is no chance that this object will collide with the Earth during this encounter - or any other encounter for at least 5 centuries.

With the help of Toutatis radar observations, a shape and rotation model for this object has been developed. Details on this work by Steve Ostro, R. Scott Hudson and colleagues can be found at:

Scott Hudson
School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Washington State University

Simulations of the asteroid's rotation in space can be found here and here.

Here's a rough radar image taken of Toutatis (on my birthday in 1996 no less!)



Here's an artist rendering-



Three miles across. Moving at 7.1 miles per second. For comparison, the moon moves in its orbit around the Earth at about 0.6 miles per second. So this 3 mile wide potato rock is cruisin' pretty damn fast.

Someone tell me again what we have available to deflect something like this? Anyone? Bueller?

That's what I thought.......

He Who Live in Glass House............Blogs and Big Media

..........

There have been a few articles recently published in major media sources discussing the blogosphere and their success at fact checking big media.

Apparently the intelligentsia in the media are none to pleased that a "nation of ankle biters" has the audacity to challenge their authority on reporting the news.

Two examples- Stephen Levy for MSNBC, and Nick Coleman- Star Tribune.

Both articles want you to believe that the blogosphere is composed of "ankle biters" and (I love this one) "hobby hacks, the Internet version of the sad loners who used to listen to police radios in their bachelor apartments and think they were involved in the world."

I guess being a UT Law Professor, or a married with child Newspaper columnist (Gnat for Pres 2032!) are just exceptions to the rule. But that's the problem. In the blogosphere, there are no rules. That's the cool part about it. Blogs are breaking up authoritarianism within media and government all over the place. China is scared stiff about them, Iran has shut most of them down, and CBS wishes they didn't exist. Sounds to me like the Ivory tower these columnists are living in has cracks all over the foundation, and they think if they can delegitimize the blogospheres influence, the tower will be safe. Big huge boulder-size-rock-through-your-glass-house kind of mistake this is. The one advantage blogs bring to the table is the incredible diversity of opinions and expertise available through them. You can read blogs about Taxes, or wildlife photography or Christ, I don't know, Pokemon.....hey, this is the internet. All three listings I just gave you offered people who are well versed in the field in which they blog about.

James Lileks has the best line about this fact in his bleat article from today-

Put it this way: there are thousands of news junkies out there doing research and analysis for free. In their spare time. For fun. It would kill us to listen? After all, if the Rathergate tale taught us anything, it’s that ordinary people could blow ten-foot holes in the Good Ship CBS simply by comparing their knowledge to the manifest ignorance of the news division’s producers. Because I’ll tell you this about "ordinary" people: they know stuff.

Glenn Reynolds of Instapundit fame was quoted in the Stephen Levy article, and taken entirely out of context. So what does he do? He blogs about it, and challenges the assertions taken by the author. The thrust of his post comes down to this concise analysis-

....the whole point of having a blog is to write about what you think is important, as opposed to what someone else thinks is important. Don't like it? Start your own blog and write about your favorite topics.

Andy at the World Wide Rant also has a few words for Mister Coleman as well, he was none too pleased about this column, and I don't blame him. The arrogance on display in Big media is simply astonishing.

What this whole thing reminds me of is the story of how the Record companies ignored online music and its potential until the records sales started plummeting because people were getting it for free. The sad fact was that had these same companies spent some R&D on constructing legal download sites, they would have made billions of dollars with little to no overhead. Instead they ignored it, and then attempted to shut it down, resulting in them having to spend millions in lawsuits and copyright protection. And they still lost out. People still trade music for free online regularly, and companies ended up creating legal download sites anyways, which are turning out to be reasonably profitable.

This is analogous to blogs vs. Big media because instead of utilizing the expertise available in the blogosphere to um, I don't know -maybe fact check some sources before taking it live on the air? They instead ignored them, and now are playing damage control as the cracks in the tower begin to appear.

Hey guys, it's your funeral.....I say again, Ignore the blogosphere at your own peril dear Media types- we are not going away...

Until You've Lived It, You Can't Explain It...........

............

Last year I had the pleasure of going back home to Boston to watch my beloved Titans play the Patriots in Foxboro during the regular season. It was a spectacular game, coming down to the last few minutes, with both McNair and Brady dueling it out. I also was with three really good friends making it all that much more enjoyable.

However, during this trip, the Boston Red Sox were about halfway through their playoff series with the Oakland A's. I attempted to warn two of my friends who had never truly experienced the heartbreak that comes with being a Sox fan from getting too excited about the Bosox, because they will only break your heart. Besides maybe the '99 series against the Yankees, I had pretty much sworn off the Sox since '86 for fear of getting another heart attack, sort of like deleting a phone number from your cell phone so you won't call that girl that likes to use you and spit you out when she'd done. It just not worth it. Let it go and all that.

What happened instead? I got caught up in Bosox fever like a snowflake in an avalanche, and my Bosox blod flowed through my veins. While we were at the Titans/Pats game, they displayed replays of the Red Sox/A's highlights during each time out. At one point a penalty was called against the Pats, but the crowd erupted because the game winner for the Sox came up on the screen. Folks listening at home must have been mystified. During most of the football game, we were generally harassed by Pats fans because of our Titans attire, but once we let on that we were Boston native Red Sox fans, we became like brothers in arms. It was truly a sight to see.

We had decided to stay an few extra days after the game to show our friends around Boston, we had the oppurtunity to experience the fever that takes over Boston during Red Sox playoff games. We got to watch the final game against the A's in Copley Square, with the Sox winning in their usual nail biting fashion. This was followed by spilling out to Newbury street and starting a near riot with fellow Bosox fans, chanting in unison, "YANKEES SUCK!!!". A glorious moment that.

Of course, most of you may know who last year ended. Red Sox lose in regular heart break fashion to the hated Bronx Bombers in game seven. That whole sinking feeling rushing over you like a wave started again.

So here we are again, looking at yet another Bosox playoff run, which appears as though our World Series hopes will once again have to go through the Evil Empire. Bill Simmons, the Sportsguy, has written a column that may explain this whole Bosox sado-masochism a bit further and is well worth the read.

Pledge Allegiance To Red Sox Nation

Here are some relevant excerpts that hit the nail on the head....

You couldn't ask for a more insane week. Now they're only two and a half behind the Yanks. Who knows? And yet, with October looming... I mean ...

I'm just not sure that I'm ready to go through this again.

Nobody is. And that's the rub. It's the best Red Sox team of my lifetime, a well-rounded machine with quality pitchers and big bats, a good defensive squad with a deep bench, a likable group of guys who care about one another. They deserve the benefit of the doubt, a clean slate with a fan base that won't panic every time something goes wrong. It's just that we can't help it. Last October nearly broke us. You can only heal so much.

Maybe enough time hasn't passed yet. I still remember everything about last October, those twelve playoff games unfolding like rounds in a classic boxing match, so many twists and turns that even Harold Lederman couldn't have scored it. I still remember the minutes and hours after that fateful Game 7 in the Bronx, when I called Dad just to make sure he was still breathing. I still remember the following afternoon, when everything hit me at once -- the residual emotions of the past three weeks swelling up like a killer wave, knocking me right on my back -- and I actually had to leave work early. It was too much. Baseball shouldn't mean this much.

A few months passed. I thought I was okay. Last Friday brought everything back. This isn't about a curse, it's about baggage, the way an accumulation of experiences alters your innate reactions. Like every Red Sox fan, I have baggage. Tons of it. Now we're heading into October with another dicey manager. My guard is up. I can't help it. At the same time, I'm going to spend my entire afternoon monitoring that Yankees doubleheader against Minnesota today. Because you never know.

Everything has changed. Nothing has changed. I don't want to go through this again. I can't live without it. I'm not sure I can handle it. I couldn't imagine any other way.

And if none of this makes sense ... well, you obviously aren't a Red Sox fan.

I didn't really want to say this, but it's about time to COWBOY UP yet again......will we ever learn? Or will we finally reach the promised land?

Stay tuned....

Now if we could just sit down and talk, I'm sure the Jews and Islam could work this out......

..................(via Allahpundit)

Ok, maybe not.........

MEMRI TV Project: Saudi IQRA TV Examines Public Attitudes toward Jews

The following dispatch, recorded and translated by MEMRI's TV Monitor Project, are excerpts from a show on Saudi Arabia's IQRA TV Channel, which featured "man on the street" interviews about feelings about Jews. To view a segment from this show, visit here...

Interviewer: "Would you refuse to shake hands with a Jew?"



Interviewer: 'If a Child Asks You Who 'Who are the Jews,' What Would You Answer?'




Yep, just a few handshakes, maybe share some tea, and this whole thing'll get worked right out.

No problem...

Reason #8745 Not to Raise Children in Kansas..........

.......(via World Wide Rant and Evolution)

(cue scary music......)

Dun dun dun DAAAAAAAHHHHHHH........

Evolution Debate Returns to Kansas

A new evolution storm is gathering over Kansas.

The next Kansas Board of Education won’t be seated until January, but a renewed debate over the teaching of evolution in science classes already is beginning.

Jack Krebs, who supports instruction in evolution, will tell an audience tonight at the University of Kansas that the new board probably will go back to a stance similar to one the board took in 1999 when it diluted the teaching of evolution in public schools. Kansas was ridiculed worldwide that time, he said.

This time, he said, the board could do more than embarrass the state: It also could hurt the state’s blossoming biosciences initiative.

“People who are concerned about this ought to start talking about it now before it happens rather than waiting until after it happens and having the damage done,” said Krebs, a high school teacher.

John Calvert, a leader on the other side of the debate, criticized Krebs for speaking publicly at this time and KU for serving as host of the forum. A committee appointed by the state Board of Education still is drafting an update of the science standards, and “what Jack is doing is undermining that process,” said Calvert, a founder of Intelligent Design Network Inc., a group formed in the wake of the 1999 debate. Krebs is a member of the board’s committee.

Mounting evidence shows that evolution alone does not explain the origin of life, Calvert said. Students should be allowed to also hear about intelligent design, he said, the theory that the universe was designed and cannot be explained by Charles Darwin’s theory of natural processes alone.

Not like I needed a whole lot of reasons not to move to Kansas, but jeeez guys, didn't you learn anything last time? Don't you remember the entire country laughing at you when you couldn't seem to keep religion out of the science classrooms? Or at least understand WHY you shouldn't teach religion in science classrooms? No?

Ok then. Time for a review. (please see the sidebar for some excellent scientific links concerning evolution-these Q and A's are taken from these sites- TalkOrigins and TalkDesigns)

Question: I thought evolution was just a theory. Why do you call it a fact?

Answer: Biological evolution is a change in the genetic characteristics of a population over time. That this happens is a fact. Biological evolution also refers to the common descent of living organisms from shared ancestors. The evidence for historical evolution -- genetic, fossil, anatomical, etc. -- is so overwhelming that it is also considered a fact. The theory of evolution describes the mechanisms that cause evolution. So evolution is both a fact and a theory.


Question: The odds against a simple cell coming into being without divine intervention are staggering.

Answer: And irrelevant. Scientists don't claim that cells came into being through random processes. They are thought to have evolved from more primitive precursors.

Question:What are the "scientific" arguments used to support Intelligent Design?

Answer: The arguments for Intelligent Design are primarily arguments from ignorance, also known as god-of-the-gaps arguments. ID advocates also claim to have positive evidence of ID, in the form of "specified complexity" and "irreducible complexity", but these arguments turn out to be disguised arguments from ignorance. In addition, ID advocates sometimes make an argument from analogy. A lot of their effort is also devoted to attacking specific aspects of evolutionary theory, rather than giving support to their own ID hypothesis.

That sucking sound you hear emanating from the middle of the country is the sound of hundreds of high tech businesses pulling out of the State of Kansas.

Again.

Nice job morons....

Good News from Iraq- Spirit of America Update.....

..........rec'd in my email this morning- if you haven't donated some money to SOA, you really should. The job they are doing is fantastic and much needed to help not only the Afghans and the Iraqis but the troops as well...Click this link to donate-


CNN and SoA Tool Donation to Iraqi Tradesmen
Dear Friends and Donors,

CNN did a great job covering the Iraqi Construction Apprenticeship Program (ICAP) and Spirit of America's donation of tools to the Iraqi graduates. ICAP is a SeaBees/Marines effort to rebuild Iraq, create jobs and provide tangible improvements in the lives "ordinary" Iraqis. Many of you made donations to this effort, contributing a total of $58,080. With these funds we sent 300 tool kits and related gear to Iraq for the ICAP graduates.

Please read Admiral Kubic's comments below about how your donations support the struggle for freedom in Iraq. More tools are needed by Oct. 30 to expand ICAP and help more graduates. We're seeking donations for 400 tool kits at a cost of $150 each. If 600 of you respond to this message with an average donation of $100, from FedEx we'll have the tools in Iraq when they're needed (with the help of our partner, FedEx).

ICAP graduate and Adm. Chuck Kubic on CNN.

Watch the video here:

The Iraqi men participating in ICAP are risking their lives to build a better future for themselves and for Iraq. When I was in Iraq in June these men were getting death threats from terrorists opposed to progress and a free Iraq. With good reason the Marines were concerned that the apprentices would never show up for classes. Now they're graduating and appearing on CNN. These men, like our troops, are at the front line of the struggle for progress in Iraq and they deserve our support. See the messages from SeaBees ADM Kubic and LT Serre below for more perspective on this project.

-----Original Message-----

From: Serre LT John M

Sent: Saturday, September 11, 2004 11:49 PM

To: 'Jim Hake'

Cc: St Martin BUC Roger A; Vold LtCol Jeffery D; Lutkenhouse LtCol John

Subject: Iraqi Construction Apprenticeship Program

Mr. Hake,

Things are going great with the Iraqi Construction Apprenticeship Program at the various sites! We currently have over 130 students learning masonry, carpentry, electrical and plumbing skills with more on the way in the near future. The Spirit of America tools continue to be a key motivator for the new students and a huge enabler for the graduates that we employ with local contractors upon completion of the program.

We are quickly approaching the date (October 30) we expect to exhaust our current supply of tools. Is SoA in a position to supply additional tool belts for ICAP? Anything you can supply is greatly appreciated by both the Seabees and ICAP students.

Thank you in advance; we look forward to SoA's continued support

Very Respectfully,

John Mark Serré

LTjg, CEC, USNR

G35A, MEG Forward

-----Original Message-----

From: Serre LT John M

Sent: Saturday, July 31, 2004 7:21 AM

To: 'Jim Hake'

Cc: 'Kerry Dupont'; 'Anise Kirkpatrick'; Lutkenhouse LtCol John F;

Pascua CIV Patrick L; Croom LCDR James F

Subject: ICAP Graduation Today

Jim,

Great news! The ICAP Ramadi class graduated 14 students today! This is the first class that ICAP has graduated so we had a lot of VIP onboard and lots of cameras (still/video). Everything went great; I can't wait to see the photos and get them to you. The students were VERY excited about receiving the tools and began to handle them immediately after the graduation, opting to partake in the refreshments being served after some time.

Cannot thank you enough for SoA's efforts to raise the funds to purchase the tools for the students. We'll have to coordinate your next visit with a graduation. Words and pictures cannot capture the excitement in their eyes when they receive their tools and realize that their future in construction is becoming a reality.

Very Respectfully,

John Mark Serré

LTjg, CEC, USNR

G35A, MEG Forward

Of course, if you ask John Kerry, Iraq is vietnam, up is down, we are the Evil American Empire, Bush knew, blah blah blah....

In other news, Alison Kaplan Sommer, from the links to right, has recently had an article published in a New Jersey paper entitled "For American Israelis, dual passports make it a tough election" that is well worth the read. She writes about the common ground Israelis and Americans have in terms of fighting Islamic terrorism, and how important this election is in terms of the outcome of this war. I agree with the majority of her opinions, and have stated before that this election is coming down to a single issue for me. Mainly because if these terrorists are successfull in pulling off another major attack, the other issues will seem meaningless. Despite the devastation we incurred both in lives and dollars on 9/11, this would pale in comparison to say a dirty bomb or a major power source attack. And don't for a second think that the enemies of the west aren't thinking about how to achieve a greater blow. We have hunted them to the far corners of the earth, and we are at a turning point in terms of their defeat. If elections are successful in Afghanistan and Iraq we will have scored a major victory in uprooting the source of islamic terrorism, which is why we are fighting in these places. Electing someone who believes that the current Iraqi PM is a puppet will do nothing to help us achieve this victory.

It's time to give the grown ups of foreign policy another four years...

Kerry Opens Mouth, Inserts Foot Along With the Presidential Hopes of the DNC.................

Yesterday I linked to the transcript of Allawi's speech to congress, and then noted the response that Senator Kerry, who couldn't be bothered to ya know, actually BE THERE for the speech, decided to basically call Allawi a liar and a puppet. Not exactly a presidential reaction to the guy that is trying to put his country back together after thirty years of dictatorship.

Today, there have been some blog reactions to Kerry's response to Allawi that I think are much worth reading....

COUNTERCOLUMN

Kerry the Anti-Salesman
No wonder Kerry left the cookie business. The guy couldn't sell an Ice cube to a bedouin.

"I laid out a plan which will help America protect our troops," he says. "We need to bring other allies to the table."

Ok. So you want other nation's leaders to expend political capital and treasure and send their lads to risk their lives along with theirs.

So why don't you act like it? Why aren't you trying to sell the deal?

Balloon Juice

Disgusting
While I am sure that Kerry's frontal assault on Bush and Ayad Allawi moistened the loins of the idiot left, I just want to be on record that it was the most grotesque, obscene, offensive, opportunistic, and disgraceful performance I have ever seen from a politician. Ever.

Senator Kerry- I am now questioning your patriotism and your sanity.

Others comment more cogently than I have or will, as I now view Kerry as a national embarassment.

Could you let Allawi leave the damn country before you called him a liar, John-John? Christ.

I would like to point out that Allawi has also spent more time in a combat zone that Kerry has, so you can keep your Vietnam experiences to yourself, Monsieur Kerry.

Belgravia Dispatch

Allawi's Speech
Wow. Strong speech. Advantage Allawi (and Bush).

Kerry looks, er, very small today. I mean, was this statement for real? In its discombobulation, utter lack of grace (all but calling Allawi a liar--a man almost axed to death by Saddam's henchmen in the U.K. and under constant threat of assassination today), near absurdities ("Let me tell you, if the 4th Infantry Division and the diplomacy had been done (ed. note: whatever "done" means) with Turkey, you wouldn't have had a Fallujah"), pleading tone ("And ask the military leaders. Go ask the military leaders")--it reads more like a bona fide Deanian (or Goreian?) meltdown than a serious policy statement/press conference.

And of course the right wing Hunter Thompson, Jeff Goldstein-

Protein Wisdom

Kerry: "Bush lied. Allawi is a liar and a puppet. Iraq is Vietnam. And bumbling American troops are creating chaos in Iraq. Now. Who wants a fudge pop?"

Kerry went on to compare Iraq to Vietnam, himself to Patton, and George Bush to a “confused little monkey,” before concluding his statement with a black power salute and a booming cry of “word to your mother!”—whatever the hell that means.

I'm at a loss to figure out what exactly Kerry is trying to prove by discrediting Allawi. Does he realize that this will actually make things even MORE difficult for the troops? This guy seems to get more clueless by the day. I can't believe that any serious intelligent Democrats out there don't realize what a complete disaster Kerry is turning in to. It's like watching a car accident, you almost have to turn away.

Transcript of Iraqi interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi's Speech to Congress 9/23/04......

........

Well worth the read......Two things I noticed in particular were these two jabs at the media-

On the upcoming Iraqi elections:

Our independent electoral commission is working with the United Nations, the multinational force and our own Iraqi security forces to make these elections a reality. In 15 out of our 18 Iraqi provinces we could hold elections tomorrow. Although this is not what we see in your media, it is a fact.

On the resolution of the stand-off in Najaf-

Together with the coalition partners, Iraqi forces cleaned out insurgents from everywhere in the city, capturing hundreds and killing many more.

At the same time, the government worked with political leaders and with Ayatollah Sistani to find a peaceful solution to the occupation of the shrine. We were successful. The shrine was preserved. Order was restored. And Najaf and Kufa were returned to their citizens.

Today the foreign media have lost interest and left, but millions of dollars in economic aid and humanitarian assistance are now flowing into the cities. Ordinary citizens are once again free to live and worship at these places.


And the killer for Kerry....he wasn't even present to hear the speech. In fact, he was at a firehouse in Ohio during the speech basically calling Allawi a liar...real presidential of you John, real productive too....

And now for something completely different.............

..... Kim Jong Il and his Live Journal Instant messaging sessions .....I had read these last year, but someone mentioned them recently and I figured I would turn you dear readers on...see the things I do for you?

Freaking priceless....Those of you familiar with instant messaging and current events during 2003 will find this sidesplittingly HIGH-larious. Those who are familiar with neither, well, catch up already, will ya?

I give you Saddam and Kim Jong on IM's....

Iran should be liberated, and their regime eliminated............Part VII....................

.....From the BBC......

Iran's Bloggers in Censorship Protest

Hundreds of Iranian online journals have been protesting against media censorship by renaming their websites after pro-reformist newspapers and websites that have been banned or shut down by the authorities.
Many of the websites, known as blogs or weblogs, have also posted news items from the banned publications on their websites.

The protest was started by blogger Hossein Derakhshan, a student at Toronto university in Canada.

He told the BBC that although he felt the action was symbolic, he wanted to show Iranian authorities "that they would not be able to censor the internet in the same way as they have managed to control other media".

He said he was delighted with the response.

The hardline Iranian press has published a personal attack on him, he said, "which is proof that the authorities must be worried by the bloggers' protest".

Stephen Green from the Vodkapundit chastises the current administration (and rightfully so) for not having a coherent plan for eliminating the Iranian regime, as they are doing their damndest to try and get in to the Nuclear Armed nations club whilst they oppress their people relentlessly and foment further unrest in Iraq. He does mention that while Bush seemingly doesn't have a plan for unseating the Mullahs (or at least in all appearances he doesn't), Kerry has something worse. Anyone remember the whole "we'll supply them the nuclear material and make sure they promise to send the stuff back when they are done with it instead of make nukes out of it" plan? I do. I get nightmares about it. We already don't trust them, why would we actually HELP them try and get a nuclear weapon? Kerry for president, that may be what we get.....Shudder....

Stephen suggests trying to arm and support an uprising-

Iran is ripe for revolution. And, as we learned last year in Fallujah, Iran is already waging war against us (directly and by proxy) in Iraq. So what, exactly, is Bush waiting for – an Iranian-sponsored 9/11-style attack on us in Iraq? We've had those already.

Iran doesn't need fixing. It just needs a good shove. And since Iran is already pushing us, why isn't Bush pushing back?

There are countless, and relatively cheap, ways to do so. We could promise ten billion dollars in cash and material aid to any provisional government willing to foreswear nuclear weapons. We could funnel weapons to Kurds and Sunnis and Azeris on the Iranian side of the Iran-Iraq border. Slightly more fantastically, we could abandon Iraq's Sunni Triangle to the civil war they desire, while setting up a pan-Shiite nation and government in the region around Basra. There are all kinds of things we could do to encourage the population of Iran to revolt – and yet Bush does nothing.

I disagree with this plan because we tried this in Iraq a few times and each time was a complete disaster. I think we need to put serious political pressure on the mullahs and force them to come clean about their nuclear intentions through detailed inspections. The mullahs have already stated they aren't so thrilled about the UN peeking under the hood of their nuclear plans, and have stated a few times that they will inly let us see the places they know are clean.

Gee, where have we heard that before....

We are once again faced with another Islamic fascist state that brutally oppresses its own people and pursues the ability to produce WMD's at a reckless pace. This nation has also sworn the US and Israel as "the great satans" and their true enemies. The people of Iran have begged for regime change in this petition. There are multiple examples of the regime violating just about every known human rights law on the books repeatedly.

"This regime is not the representative of the Iranian people, and we challenge those who think otherwise by an internationally monitored referendum. If the US government and politicians want to be on the side of the brave Iranians who have not given up hopes in spite of confronting a brutal regime and all its western supporters, they should just give them moral support by declaring that they do not recognize the Islamic Regime as their representatives, and that they would refrain from establishing friendly relations with their abusers."[Mohammad Parvin, MEHR.ORG]

Bush may not have a plan on the table that is being discussed in the media, but the one Kerry proposes gives me nightmares. I am sure that Powell and the rest of the administration have discussed the possibility of applying serious pressure to the mullahs. I want to hear what the plans are. If not, we will continue to give them the green light to oppress their people and pursue nuclear weapons.

And thos who think we should defer to the UN, well, I have a cartoon for you...

Kerry Lies on Letterman...Don't Elect This Man.......

.........Either lying or he is REALLY not paying attention...



Kerry on Letterman, September 20, 2004. Via- The Kerry Spot at NRO....


I watched most of this interview/love-in between Kerry and Dave last night, yeah I don't know why I was home that early either. Must be gettin old or something. Anyhoo, I decided to try and catch most of it whilst fliopping between the end of Monday Night Football. I haven't seen the transcript yet, but John Kerry better be prepared to get spanked like a three year old if he brings the "No Iraqi Ties to Islamic Terrorism-We Aren't Any Safer" talking point to the debates. And this was precisely what Kerry was espousing last night on Dave. I don't have the transcript yet, but he basically stated there were no Iraqi ties to Al-Qaeda or Islamic terrorism (wrong, wrong, wrong), and that we aren't any safer.

I believe we are safer because Bush took the fight back where it belongs, and that is in the heart of the Middle Eastern Islamic Dictatorship States. That is where it originated, and that is where it will end. It will not be the first time Democracy defeats religious fundamentalism or fascism. Nor will it be the last.

I believe we would have been and would be right now much less safer if we had not removed Saddam Hussein from power when we did. I think we may have waited too long. Whether or not Kerry would have taken him out eventually doesn't impress me. For Kerry to say we should have waited for more international approval and inspections tells me that he is more concerned with the worlds approval than for doing what is needed to protect the United States. And this will give more time for the Al-Qaedas and Al-Ansars of the world to attack America instead of defending their fascist failed states.

Sorry John, but this trumps any top ten list every time. Christ, Kerry even AGREED with me a few months ago....This man should not be president instead of George Bush.

And that is what we are faced with.


Ok, time for a drink.

Ottawa Canucks tell it like it is.................

.......

Defining terrorism

These days when you read the papers or listen to the media, one cannot help but hear the strained way in which most of the liberal media tries to paint the MURDERING ISLAMIC TERRORIST SCUMBAGS as some sort of modern day militia men straight out of the American Revolution. Charles Johnson at LGF posts an example of this phenomena here... What you notice is the way the word "militant" is used to describe the MURDERING ISLAMIC TERRORIST SCUMBAGS.

For example:

BAGHDAD, Iraq - A video posted Monday on a Web site showed the beheading of a man identified as American civil engineer Eugene Armstrong. The militant group led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi claimed responsibility for the slaying and said another hostage — either an American or a Briton — would be killed in 24 hours.

Folks, these aren't Paul Revere wannabe's. Thomas Jefferson and Ben Franklin did not grab innocent female journalists, behead them and dump the body out on the street. They didn't take over schools and shoot kids in the back. They fought armies and soldiers, not women and babies.

The Ottawa Citizen Newspaper has done what few publications are not afraid to do, and that is call these MURDERING ISLAMIC TERRORIST SCUMBAGS what they really are, TERRORISTS. They got called out on it on a radio show on the CBC, and they responded back in their pages...

The Ottawa Citizen

September 18, 2004

Newspapers are supposed to report the news, not be the news. Yet we became the story yesterday when CBC Radio aired an item critical of the way we cover the Middle East. The unfair criticism deserves a response.

The chief complaint is that this newspaper freely uses the word "terrorist" to describe certain groups and acts. The CBC and some wire services prefer terms such as "activist," "militant" or "gunmen." These media organizations argue that "terrorist" is a subjective term, laden with too much emotion, and that the imperative to be impartial prohibits journalists from using it.

We reject the argument. Terrorism is a technical term. It describes a modus operandi, a tactic. We side with security professionals who define terrorism as the deliberate targeting of civilians in pursuit of a political goal. Those who bombed the nightclub in Bali were terrorists. Suicide bombers who strap explosives to their bodies and blow up people eating in a pizza parlour are terrorists. The men and women who took a school full of hostages in Beslan, Russia, and shot some of the children in the back as they tried to flee to safety were terrorists. We as journalists do not violate our impartiality by describing them as such.

Ironically, it is supposedly neutral terms like "militant" that betray a bias, insofar as they have a sanitizing effect. Activists for various political causes can be "militant," but they don't take children hostage.

There is a popular misconception that violence committed for a legitimate cause cannot be terrorism. That's incorrect. Sikhs may, or may not, have legitimate complaints against the Indian government, but the 1985 Air India bombing was a terrorist act, because it deliberately targeted civilians. Journalists betray neither a pro- nor anti-Sikh bias to report it as such.

A newspaper's mandate is to present accurate reports. The Citizen receives wire service reports from many news organizations; in order to ensure consistency in the terms used by these various sources, editors sometimes change words such as "militant" to "terrorist," if it more accurately describes the person committing a violent act. Anyone who deliberately targets civilians in pursuit of a political goal is a terrorist, and we use that term.

Sometimes, an editor will insert a sentence into a wire service report to ensure readers have the full context of the story. For example, some wire reports will describe Hamas or some like-minded group as fighting Israeli "occupation." In fact, Hamas is openly dedicated to the destruction of the entire Jewish state. An editor is quite right to contextualize the story by adding that Hamas views all of Israel as "occupied" land.

There can be, of course, no hard rule on changing the word "militant'' to "terrorist." In Iraq, for example, rebel fighters are hitting both civilian and military targets. On Sept. 9, the Citizen edited an Associated Press report and the resulting story wrongly suggested that all armed men in Fallujah are "terrorists." The Citizen has acknowledged that this change was not in accordance with our policy and was made in error.

Osama bin Laden would have us believe that one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter. Nonsense. If you deliberately target civilians in pursuit of a political goal, you are a terrorist. Journalists should not, and the Citizen will not, be afraid to say so.

© The Ottawa Citizen 2004



They are not militants. They are MURDERING ISLAMIC TERRORIST SCUMBAGS.

And those same MURDERING ISLAMIC TERRORIST SCUMBAGS are on the same side of the war as this fat ass......

Titans............bah......only week 2.....

....Not a total loss for this sport fans weekend, as the Tennessee Vols, of whom I am an avid (not rabid like most Tennesseans) fan, pulled out the win over Florida, which is arguably their biggest rivalry. Quite the thriller too, as kicker Jason Wilhoit, a Tennessee native, kicked a 50 yard game winning field goal.


Other than that sportsfans, this weekend sucked the big one.

Red Sox get spanked 2 out of 3 in New Yawk. Pedro and Lowe get hammered the worst, as the Sox bats decided to go silent at a most inoppurtune time. This better change next weekend if we want to put 1918 to rest for good.

The Titans blew a HUGE game at home against the Indianapolis Colts. Despite Chris Brown running for 104 yards in the first half, the Titans couldn't make the big plays when they needed to, and let what looked like a victory get taken away by a very dangerous Indianapolis team. This being the second week of the season, I'm not quite ready to say Indy is a better team, but they were certainly the better team on Sunday. The December 5th rematch at Indy will most likely be the biggest game of the season now for the Titans, provided they get their stuff together and come back to pounce the Jaguars next week. Fortunately, this isn't a team that panics, and there is little doubt that the Titans will put this behind them and move on. Steve McNair was his usual non-excuse making, tell it like it is self after the game-

QB STEVE MCNAIR

(On what kind of feeling this loss leaves him with)

Any time you lose it’s just a bad feeling. But the good thing about it is that it’s only the second game of the season, we got a long season. We did some good things today on all three phases. When you go against a good team like Indianapolis, you can’t make mistakes and we made a couple mistakes. Third and short, fourth and short and we had a chance to really put this game away early. We didn’t. Any time we have another team like Indianapolis stay in it with Peyton (Manning) at the helm you’re asking to get beat. That’s what happened today we just left too many plays out on the field today. We had a chance to make plays, we didn’t. We had the chance to go out and execute well, we did for the most part, but like I said we just didn’t make those big plays when we had to.

Bring on the Jags.....

From the Desk of my Bud Blair.................

....

Top 10 Reasons Why Beer Is Better Than Jesus

10. No one will kill you for not drinking Beer.
9. Beer doesn't tell you how to have sex.
8. Beer has never caused a major war.
7. They don't force Beer on minors who can't think for themselves.
6. When you have a Beer, you don't knock on people's doors trying to
give it away.
5. Nobody's ever been burned at the stake, hanged, or tortured over
his brand of Beer.
4. You don't have to wait 2000+ years for a second Beer.
3. There are laws saying Beer labels can't lie to you.
2. You can prove you have a Beer.
1. If you've devoted your life to Beer, there are groups to help you
stop.

Also for your viewing pleasure, I am linking to Jay Pinkerton's Jesus photoshop series. However, it comes with a warning. If you are easily offended by Jesus jokes, then DO NOT-I repeat-DO NOT click this LINK RIGHT HERE ENCASED IN BOLD LETTERS THAT WILL HAVE STUFF MAKING FUN OF JESUS THAT MAY POSSIBLY FOR SOME BIZZARE REASON BE OFFENSIVE TO YOU JESUS NUTS.

So, if you clicked that link, and got offended, don't come crying to me. I warned you. You can't say I didn't.....

And this is why I may pencil in Steve McNair for president............

..........The Instapundit brings up his current grading of the nominees thusly....

You've never seen me sing the praises of George W. Bush the way that, say, Andrew Sullivan was doing at one point. I think he's okay, and he at least takes seriously the notion that we're at war, and he seems steady, and not flighty. But overall, really, I give him a B. Maybe a B-. Trouble for the Democrats is that they've nominated a guy who gets -- at the very most charitable -- a weak gentleman's C.

I'm not crazy about Gephardt, especially on trade, but he takes the war seriously and he seems steady and not flighty, too.

The Democrats' problem is that the base, which, like bases do, cares mostly about emotional returns, wanted Howard Dean. But the leadership, which, like leaderships do, cares about status and connections and thus about winning, knew that Dean couldn't win. They tried to split the difference with Kerry, whom they thought could fool the gullible folks in flover country into seeing him as a more-macho version of Bush, while winking to the base that he was really a tall Howard Dean with some medals. This was a dumb idea, and it hasn't worked.

Worse yet, if it does somehow get Kerry elected, he'll be a cripple as soon as he's sworn in. The anybody-but-Bush crowd won't have any particular reason to support him once he's given them what they want, and he doesn't have much in the way of another constituency. It's telling that he doesn't really even have the usual tight-knit "mafia" of longtime supporters the way that Bush, or Clinton, had. He's got a revolving-door assembly of party apparatchiks and paid consultants. That's a bad sign.

I'm no huge fan of Bush, as I have stated before. I'm never a big fan of "born again" politicians. I'm especially concerned about the fact that a republican conservative will most likely be the one choosing possibly four new Chief Justices. I am no fan of the "faith based solutions" that get talked about in the White House. All of these are legitimate concerns that trouble me. However, the War against Islamic terror trumps every one of my other concerns, and so far I think Bush has a record to be proud of in terms of confronting the source of Islamic terror and taking serious steps to transform the Arab nations that spew forth these radical murderers.

Kerry gives me no such confidence. And he gives some of his core supporters even less confidence. Via Tim Blair, here are some excerpts from Don Imus's interview with the cadidate, and the head bashing afterwards-

It’s day two of John Kerry’s New Toughness. Feel the wrath as this raging alpha rabbit vows bloody vengeance on his enemies during an interview with Don Imus:

In the radio interview, Kerry vowed to take on his rival in other ways. "We are punching back. I am absolutely taking the gloves off," Kerry said.

And he immediately scored a brutal hit -- on Imus, a Kerry supporter, who had this to say after the punchy, gloveless bunny angrily hopped away:

"I was just back in my office banging my head on the jukebox," Mr. Imus said. "This is my candidate, and ... I don't know what he's talking about."

Here’s the entire interview. The Imus-breaking moment might be in this exchange:

KERRY: I mean, what you ought to be doing and what everybody in America ought to be doing today is not asking me; they ought to be asking the president, What is your plan? What's your plan, Mr. President, to stop these kids from being killed? What's your plan, Mr. President, to get the other countries in there? What's your plan to have 90 percent of the casualties and 90 percent of the cost being carried by America?

IMUS: We're asking you because you want to be president.

Er, yes.

I don't imagine too many Democrats are all that confident of their candidate, and every day produces yet another "let them eat cake" moment from Theraayyyyzzzzaa. I think Karl Rove is actually paying Mrs Heinz, as it seems like every time she opens her mouth Republicans gain about a point in the polls.

Either way, it's almost a certainty that the electoral votes from Tenneessee will be going to Bush, so I can safely vote for the one guy I truly respect to run the free world- I mean uh- a pro football team right now. STEVE MCNAIR. He's got the arm, he can run, he makes things happen when the pocket breaks down, who else do you need to fight al-qaeda- I mean uh- the AFC?

Meanwhile, On Board the Cassini Probe to Saturn............

....I never get tired of these pictures....The symmetry ceases to amaze me....View some of them here for yourself...

Is Syria trying to leave the Junior Ranks of the Axis of Evil?...........

......This would be one way to paint a target on your country.....(via Rantburg)

Syria tested chemical weapons on black Darfur population: German WELT reports

Secret Services: Dozens of Victims
from Jacques Schuster

In June of this year Syrian special forces have used chemical weapons against the Black-African population of Darfur. The action in which dozens of people died, occurred in arrangement with the Sudanese government, a conclusion Western Secret Services have reached. This is supported by reports of eyewitnesses which were published in different Arabian media.

Judging from the documents of Western Intelligence services in possession of die WELT, Syrian officers have met representatives of the Sudanese army in May of this year in a suburb of Khartoum. The conversations dealt with the question about how to expand the military collaboration. According to Secret Service information the Syrian delegation has offered Sudan a closer cooperation in the area of chemical warfare. The sources furthermore say that it has been suggested to test the chemical agents on the rebels of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA). Because in May Khartoum was in peace negotiations with the rebels, the Sudanese delegation apparently advised to test the agents on the Black-African population. To do that at least five airplanes of the Syrian civil airline Syrian Arab Airlines were flown from Damascus to Khartoum. Aboard were specialists of the Syrian University for Chemical Warfare including engineering equipment.


As regular readers of this blog may know, I am an advocate of using military and political force to remove and eliminate the Iranian Regime from power, see my posts concerning this here, here, here, here, here, and here. The list of reasons for removing the Iranian Mullarchy are quite extensive, but the group at Blog Iran/Activist Chat has a very specific case. Here is their Petition to the US to remove the regime, which I have digitally signed myself.

Despite all of this, Syria now appears to want to move out of the minors and in to the big leagues concerning the Axis of Evil. There was compelling evidence that prior to the war in Iraq, many of Saddams WMD's were scurried in to Syria. If we find out that some of the weapons that have been used in Darfur are Iraqi made, yet distributed and supplied by the Syrians, they may have pushed themselves to the front of the line in the War on Terror. And considering that Syria continues to refuse to leave Lebanon, primarily because of their support for militant Palestinian factions, the potential for confrontation is rising daily.

Assad would be wise to pay close attention to the following cartoon....

Blogosphere BitchSlap continued........

.......Apparently Dan Rather is factually deficient.....

....And Nervous.......



"Brent Bozell, president of the Media Research Center, called on the network to apologize, saying: "The CBS story is a hoax and a fraud, and a cheap and sloppy one at that. It boggles the mind that Dan Rather and CBS continue to defend it."

Who does this guy think he is anyways? Some kind of media giant like Dan Rather?

I bet Dan Rather has a blog. Ok maybe not....

Titans!!!!...........North Korea Goes Boom......Dan Rather and CBS Get Bitch Slapped by Blogs......

...........TITANS!!!!!!!

Defense dominating in win at Miami

The Associated Press

MIAMI, FL, Sept. 11, 2004 -- An approaching hurricane failed to faze the Tennessee Titans, and the Miami Dolphins' offense didn't give them much trouble, either.

Tennessee made three interceptions Saturday, including one in their own end zone and another returned 37 yards for a touchdown by Lamont Thompson, and beat Miami 17-7.


This was not the most well executed game I have ever seen Tennessee play, but a win is a win is a win. This win was far more reminiscent of the former glory days of Titans smash mouth football. Lots of hard hits, a devastating run game, and BIG D. Chris Brown looked impressive racking up 100 FIRST HALF yards running the ball, and the secondary made some shut down plays, pitching a shutout until giving up a meaningless TD at the end. The one unusual note was Aaron Elling, the kicker the Titans brought in to handle field goals and kick offs for the game. He ended up punting too and put on a nice show, averaging over 45 a punt, and putting one inside the 5 yard line when we needed it. This fan hopes there is some cap room left to keep this kid around, he seems like a nice fit.

Extra Special stat: Chris Brown became the first running back since Travis Henry (12/1/02) to rush for 100 yards against Miami’s defense. Let's not forget that was in ONE HALF of play. Chris left with an ankle injury after the first half, but according to him he will be fine. Thank god.

Here's a picture for you other NFL QB's to get used to- KEITH BULLUCK IS NO JOKE-



North Korea...Um, Hello?

Massive explosion reported in North Korea
CTV.ca News Staff

A mushroom cloud of up to four kilometres in diameter was detected in an isolated part of North Korea, a South Korean news agency is reporting.

Yonhap news agency based its report on sources in Beijing and what it calls diplomatic sources in Seoul, the capital of South Korea.

The explosion, while being reported now, actually occurred on Thursday -- an important anniversary of the secretive communist state.

North Korea was founded on Sept. 9, 1948. The event is used by authorities to hold celebrations.

The blast happened in Yangyang province, which is near the border with China. It left a crater in Kim Hyong Jik county large enough to be detected by a satellite, one source said.

"It remains unclear whether it was a deliberately planned nuclear test or it was just an accident," the source in Seoul told Yonhap. "But it doesn't seem to be an ordinary explosion."

Some reports are stating it was a blast for a hydroelectric project, others are stating this is a misdirection, part of North Korea's policy of "mystification". All I know is mushroom cloud and North Korea are two words that don't go well together. Hopefully no one was seriously hurt if it was an accident, seeing as how the press works in the DPRK, I wouldn't hold my breath for answers any time soon. Weird weird weird.

Dan Rather and CBS Get Bitch Slapped by Blogs...

Ho Boy...Dan needs to do his homework a little better, as the one thing that blogs are extremely proficient at is fact checking. And Dan did not do his homework very well. There are multiple links abounding for this whole story, but there is one page that seems to have taken the whole story and whittled it down a bit. For further explanation, please visit RatherGate.

And once again, ignore the blogosphere at your own peril big journalism. Your days of media dominance are numbered...Here's a recent suggestion for big media to consider..

Mumble......grumble....mope.......bitch.......moan.......Hey look! Alcohol!!

..........As Homer Simpson would say-

"To Alcohol! The cause and solution to all of life's problems...."

Sorry for the lack of posts dear readers, I'm sure all five of you have been wondering why the dearth of prose from the Tman. It's been a long week.

As they say, I'm in a funk.

Chick problem? Check.

Money problems? As usual.

Health? Just give it time, that'll fail soon enough.

Friends? Found out I have one less. This is probably a good thing though.

Beer? Why thank you, yes- I'd love one.

+ = A temporary solution.....




Politics? F-ing John Kerry. Gawd would this man please shut the hell up. He's a total embarassment to the Democratic party. The guy changes his mind about the War in Iraq depending on who he's talking to. This is not who we need to run the country at this incredibly tense moment in the history of Western Civilization. Compare the speeches from the conventions-

John Kerry, Clinton, Edwards= "Let's talk about a bigger tent, France has been so isolated, we must reach out. If we're attacked again, well, we won't hesitate to call France up and help them teach us how to surrender. They are the experts. Oh and by the way, John Kerry served four months in Vietnam, just so you know. How that has anything to do with the current war besides, well, NOTHING, we don't know. But it sure sounds good. We Democrats haven't run a decent war veteran in decades. Oh and Free health care, free housing, free food, and free money for all!! Senator Kerry reporting for duty!!"

Good god.


Guiliani, Miller, Arnold, Bush= "Kill the bastards. Yes, I'm talking to you Mr. Zarqawi. The world will not surrender to theocratic fundamentalist ideologists. And we are hunting you down like the pig that you are. We will make Iraq and Afghanistan work for Democracy. 5000 of our people, soldiers and civilians alike, did not die so you could hang fourteen year old girls because you don't like what they say. Oh, and Bush wants to simplify taxes and let me invest my Social Security money so I don't just throw it out the window."

Honestly, I'm leaning towards a vote for Steve McNair right now, even though I know he won't win, just because I want to see how many Tennesseeans are planning on voting for him. I know at least two already. He may not know much about politics, but damn can the guy throw a football, and that has to be worth something doesn't it?

Let's talk football. Tomorrow is opening day for the Tennessee Titans, as the Sunday game we had scheduled against the Miami Dolphins was moved back due to the Hurricane approaching Florida. Either way, the Titans are ready. As Keith Bulluck, Titans all-pro linebacker has said, the Titans have been knocking on the door of the NFL Championship for years. This time we kick it in.

First Stop: Miami.

Some friends of mine have started the talk about the Red Sox making their annual run towards disappointment already. I will refrain from any speculation, as I know better than I used to. Or maybe not. Pedro and Schilling are pitching gold, and Martinez and Ortiz are borderline unstoppable right now. Three words dear readers- Dent, Buckner, Boone.

I'm just sayin'.........Go visit Soxaholic for more info.....

Here's a more familiar picture- once again, get used to it...........

Tman Labor Day Weekend Roundup...............................

...Ugh.......and what a disaster it was.

Chicago- great city, beautiful downtown, lots of parks, great food, awesome nightlife, plus you have the lake with nice beaches to chill out at. Can't quite say I would do a whole of swimming in the lake, but nice nonetheless. Jazz festival was cool, at least the one night I saw of it. We caught the Mile Davis tribute night, which was excellent- Trombonist Conrad Herwig and trumpeter Brian Lynch both burned through various Miles arrangements and added their own Latin kick. The park where the show was held was set up quite well with ample seating as well as a great sound system. From the park you get an incredible view of the city at night, and it provided a very relaxing atmosphere in which to enjoy the show.

So that was the good part of the trip.

The bad part of the trip was due to my own bad judgement in trusting others not to screw me over or lead me on. I drove 500 miles to see some jazz and get screwed over by not only a girl but also a good friend. All in one weekend. Labor day weekend in which I used up vacation time so I could be there no less.

Won't be doing that again, I can tell you that.

I hope to return to Chicago again in the future under better terms because I did enjoy the parts of it I saw. Back to your regularly scheduled ranting soon.

HOW 'BOUT DEM TITANS!!!!!!

Tman Off to the Chicago Jazzfest...............

.........I will be away from the computers this weekend, as I'm driving up to Chicago to go see the Chicago Jazzfest.

Looks like a pretty damn good lineup, I'm looking forward to the following-

7:10 PM
* The Latin Side of Miles
Miles Davis was one of the greatest synthesists in the history of jazz -- practically everything that went into his ears came out in his music, Latin rhythms included. But the trumpeter's rigorous creative process made it nearly impossible to find the seams where he'd worked different idioms into his tunes. Trombonist Conrad Herwig and trumpeter Brian Lynch, the leaders of this terrific project, don't pretend to be able to isolate the Latin molecules in Miles's complicated formula; instead they transpose some of his best-known compositions into an explicitly Latin setting. (They gave Coltrane the same treatment on a 1996 recording.) Herwig and Lynch's crafty arrangements on Another Kind of Blue (Half Note) enhance the unforgettable melodies from the original album and give the soloists even more to work with. Both men are hard-bop vets -- Lynch has worked with Art Blakey and Phil Woods -- and longtime members of bands led by legendary Latin-jazz pianist Eddie Palmieri. Here the pianist is Edsel Gomez; rounding out the rhythm section are drummer Robbie Ameen, bassist Ruben Rodriguez, and conguero Pedro Martinez. (PM)


I'll probably stop in to Buddy Guy's place, as one should always do when in the windy city.

Also hope to spend some quality time with a certain someone..........and I'll be drunk....Stay safe Florida, Give 'Em Hell Junior, and all you Islamofascists out there: I hope you all die a slow painful death....

and one more thing.....


TITANS!!!!!!




Have a safe and happy Labor Day weekend everybody!

Alien Radio Signal?................

....No seriously.....

Space signal studied for alien contact

I think the signal was translated in to the following english phrase................

"Are Humans white or dark meat?"

Wouldn't it be nice...................

......Zell Miller at the GOP Convention......


In the summer of 1940, I was an 8-year-old boy living in a remote little Appalachian valley. Our country was not yet at war, but even we children knew that there were some crazy men across the ocean who would kill us if they could.

President Roosevelt, in his speech that summer, told America "all private plans, all private lives, have been in a sense repealed by an overriding public danger."

In 1940, Wendell Wilkie was the Republican nominee.

And there is no better example of someone repealing their "private plans" than this good man. He gave Roosevelt the critical support he needed for a peacetime draft, an unpopular idea at the time.

And he made it clear that he would rather lose the election than make national security a partisan campaign issue.

Shortly before Wilkie died, he told a friend, that if he could write his own epitaph and had to choose between "here lies a president" or "here lies one who contributed to saving freedom," he would prefer the latter.

Where are such statesmen today?



Yeah, good question Zell...


Hey folks,

These People

Want Us

Either Dead

OR ISLAMIC.

Now would be a good time for Kerry to either tell me how he is going to win, or get the hell out of the way.

Bloggers Versus Big Media................

.........Glenn Reynolds, the Instapundit got some serious press cred today with an editorial published in todays Wall Street Journal. Aside from being perhaps the single most influential blogger on the map, Mr Reynolds is a law Professor at the University of Tennessee Law School.

His blogging skills may be second to none, and many people wonder just where in the hell he gets time to peruse such a vast swath of media sources. Well, I think the answer is pretty simple-the blogosphere. His list of links is quite expansive, as well as being pretty much across the board in terms of political leanings. A testament to his non-affiliation for either political party is that he is constantly getting berated by conservatives for being to liberal and by liberals for being too conservative. That sounds just about right for me.

Todays column he has in the journal highlights something I have been talking to people about for a while now, and that is the underestimation of the influence of the blogworld within big media, and the public in general.

Mom, if you are reading this one, remember the conversation I had with John (who I didn't like-good riddance) where I stated that the media and others were ignoring the rising influence of blogs at their own peril? Well this is exactly what I was talking about.

An excerpt from the article-

The election coverage from Big Media has been unusually partisan this time around. As Newsweek's Evan Thomas famously remarked: "Let's talk a little media bias here. The media, I think, wants Kerry to win. . . . They're going to portray Kerry and Edwards as being young and dynamic and optimistic and there's going to be this glow about them . . . that's going to be worth maybe 15 points." When he made that remark, many were worried. If the big media all tilted toward one party (which was pretty clearly true) and if their influence was worth 15 points, enough to swing most any presidential election (which was plausible), then the institutional power of big media seemed to be a threat to democracy itself. But it hasn't worked out that way -- or if it has, John Kerry must be an awfully weak candidate to be neck-and-neck with President Bush despite a built-in 15-point advantage.

It's probably some of both. Mr. Kerry, as even many Dems are admitting, is a weak candidate. But the big media advantage doesn't seem to have turned out to be as big as some thought.

That has played hob with the Kerry campaign's strategy. It's been apparent for quite a while that Mr. Kerry's Vietnam record would be a centerpiece of his campaign, and it's also been apparent that he has stretched the truth more than a little where parts of it were concerned. In a Boston Herald piece inspired by "Apocalypse Now," Mr. Kerry wrote: "On more than one occasion, I, like Martin Sheen in 'Apocalypse Now,' took my patrol boat into Cambodia.

"In fact, I remember spending Christmas Day of 1968 five miles across the Cambodian border being shot at by our South Vietnamese Allies who were drunk and celebrating Christmas. The absurdity of almost being killed by our own allies in a country in which President Nixon claimed there were no American troops was very real." Mr. Kerry made similar claims on the Senate floor in 1986, adding that the memory was "seared -- seared -- in me." He also peddled variations on this story during press interviews over the years.

But the story isn't true. And the Kerry campaign eventually admitted that, but only after prodding from the media. Not from the newspapers and TV networks -- which studiously ignored the story for nearly two weeks -- but from blogs and talk radio. Bloggers researched the story on Google, on Factiva and Lexis, and in libraries. Talk-radio hosts, including some like Neal Boortz and Hugh Hewitt who are bloggers themselves, retailed the findings to the wider world. Eventually the Kerry campaign was forced to respond, which then forced the New York Times and the LA Times, grudgingly, to admit that the story existed and to start their own coverage.



Obviously the blog world is not a proffessional form of journalism by any means. But it is a place where people are fact checked religiously, and false bravado and unsubstantiated criticism are quickly refuted. Already, a few bloggers have been able to translate their blogging in to a real job as an actual journalist, and many have been successful at part time columns as well. At the same time, the big media is slowly catching on (if reluctantly) and they are continually adding blogs to supplement their own TV/Cable/Radio/Newspaper entities.

This will truly be the single most blogged presidential campaign in history, and one cannot deny the fact that the influence of the blogworld is unavoidable. To a libertarian independent, there couldn't be any better way.

Power to the People indeed......