why dave bergman is neat

i came across this via a link in the comments section here. it is a statement about september 11th by 'historian' howard zinn (haven't we all seen 'good will hunting'? his book 'a people's history of the united states' was hip enough to be mentioned in close proximity to noam chomsky's 'manufacturing consent'). i shall quote it:

May 14, 2004

To All Those Working for a Peaceful, Just & Environmentally Sustainable Society:

Whether one views the 9/11 "terrorist" attacks as blow back, a wake-up call, or an unjustified outrage, they have deeply affected the American psyche and our attitudes toward war, the future, and the world. As a historian trying to understand this phenomenon, I tend to view the government's behavior, before and after 9/11, in the context of its leaders' past actions.

Before 9/11, Bush's inner circle of neoconservative advisors proclaimed the need for a dramatic expansion of U.S. military might entailing "full spectrum dominance" over all other nations and regions (including outer space), long term petro-resource control with permanent Middle East bases, and a preemptive First Strike policy against recalcitrant states. In September 2000, however, the neocon's flagship think tank, the Project for a New America Century, warned that this "process of transformation, even if it brings revolutionary change, is likely to be a long one, absent some catastrophic and catalyzing event - like a new Pearl Harbor."

After 9/11, this administration systematically nurtured the fear of further homeland attacks to justify its own assaults on constitutional rights as well as social and environmental programs that protected "the people" but fettered corporate power and control.

David Ray Griffin's book "The New Pearl Harbor -- Disturbing Questions About The Bush Administration and 9/11" asks "Were these tragedies simply the result of unprecedented failures and incompetence as the government maintains, or were there elements of foreknowledge and implicit welcome involved?" He attempts to answer this question, reviewing the facts, studying other possible interpretations of these facts, and observing the breakdown of the official story over time.

Griffin's status as a renowned theologian and his systematic approach to the documented evidence lend this work unique importance and authority. Although still shunned by the mainstream media, his book has already encouraged many thousands to debate the case for possible government complicity and at the very least to demand a full, transparent and truly independent public inquiry.

Democracy requires citizen vigilance, informed debate and official accountability. In that spirit, David Ray Griffin's book deserves to be widely read.

Howard Zinn

now, i think the conspiracy-theorizing in here speaks for itself. i would just like to ask one question. under what possible rubric of expertise or influence does david ray griffin's 'status as a renowned theologian' give his work in american current events a 'unique importance and authority'? if anyone has an answer to this, i would very much like to hear it.

this, from jonah goldberg on the corner over at NRO, is just too good and true not to reprint:

PACIFISTS FOR WAR HEROES [Jonah Goldberg]
I understand that expecting consistency from a crowd so animated by irrational hatred is foolish. And I also know this point has been made many times. But walking around NYC, I’ve seen several protestors with signs or buttons etc. mocking Bush as a “deserter” etc and cheering Kerry as a “war hero.” One sign said “Bush: Coke-head draft-dodger. Kerry: Decorated War Hero. You decide.”

Now, I understand why conservative Democrats, independents et al. might value Kerry’s record and all that. But the disingenuousness of this crowd prizing service in Vietnam is astounding. Never mind the fact that they – i.e. the serious anti-war leftist crowd – admired, even adored, Bill Clinton because he evaded the draft (And, needless to say, this crowd doesn’t exactly condemn recreational drug use – the unsubstantiated basis of the allegation notwithstanding). And forget the fact that if they like war heros so much more than "draft dodgers" they should have supported the first President Bush over Bill Clinton in 1992. But the entire antiwar crowd’s playbook is based upon their view of Vietnam as an evil and corrupt war. How can Kerry’s decorated service in that war – and not his protests of it – be central to any honest leftwinger’s support for Kerry?

Ultimately, the “draft-dodger” stuff is just an insult. But it’s not even an insult these aging hippies would find insulting if directed at them, which just underscores how shabby it is.

VP dick cheney's daughter mary is openly gay, and the VP publicly supports her. i would have thought that no one more than gay activists would argue that this is her own personal business and no one else's, and that no one has the right to question how she deals with her sexual preferences. had i thought that, however, i would have been incorrect, as evidenced by this story in the new york times via myway.com:

Gay rights advocates, on the other hand, accuse Ms. Cheney of selling out gays to aid her father's campaign.

"There is a profound sense of bewilderment bordering on betrayal," said Matt Foreman, executive director of the Gay and Lesbian Taskforce. "How is it possible that you could be working so hard for an administration that is so against your basic life, so against you and any family aspirations you might have, and against your people? I understand father-daughter ties, but it seems impossible to reconcile."

mr. foreman arrogantly presumes to make a number of statements about the way in which ms. cheney views the world, her place in it, and her priorities. who is he to decide the fundamental elements of her existence, the 'basic life' about which he seems so sure? who is he to decide what her 'family aspirations' are? even mr. foreman seems willing to admit his total ignorance about this question, shown by his addition of the modal qualifier 'might'. and, at any rate, her devotion to her father seems to demonstrate a much more concrete sort of 'family aspiration' than anything about which matt foreman would like to speculate. and i'm even more astounded by his last question: 'so...against your people?' 'against your people'? since when are individuals who practice homosexuality a separate race? and since when is a person, based on his or her sexual orientation and choices, thereby responsible for an entire segment of the population of humanity? forgive me an analogy, but if i like to play basketball, and a group of people tells me that playing basketball in public is wrong, am i of necessity compelled to advocate for all basketball players who wish to play in public in the world? do i owe it to shaquille o'neal? or may i, as a valid agent making choices in the world, choose instead to be silent, or to be satisfied with playing basketball in private? and if i choose to do that, is it really any of matt foreman's business, whether he agrees with it in principle or not? or does a proclivity toward playing basketball in certain circumstances necessarily predicate an alliance with whoever likes to play basketball in any and all circumstances?

the issues which ms. cheney considers private should be left there, apart from the self-righteous pontifications of the likes of matt foreman. thus i end my own self-righteous pontification.

and by the way, 'the john kerry fight watch' is still going strong, since i just saw another piece of evidence:

Kerry was spending Sunday at his beachfront home in Nantucket, Mass., where he planned to plot strategy for the final two months of the presidential campaign.

"We've got 66 days to go, and I'm in a fighting mood," he said on Saturday during a campaign visit to Washington state.

this sounds to me like rational political discourse:

"I can't think of the last time I hated a president so much," said marcher Mindy Rhindruss, a researcher from Queens. "He wants to destroy everything that's American - my right to my vote, my voice."

but i was overjoyed to see that we have our own commies out at the rally, though, as far as i can tell, none is named aristotle:

The day attracted political activists from across the ideological spectrum. On the Great Lawn, members of the Revolutionary Communist Youth Brigade mingled with mainstream Democrats, while Libertarian presidential candidate Michael Badnarik gave an impromptu news conference.

the 'revolutionary communist youth brigade'? is that sort of like the cub scouts? i seem to remember reading about a similar organization in george orwell's 1984.

also, as eric over at classical values noted, there have been some absolute IDIOTS on broadway engaging in civil disobedience. oh, wait--i think it's actually uncivil stupidity. as quoted in a reuters story:

"Republican murderers go home and kill your babies!" one young man yelled at theatergoers, a far cry from local public service messages urging New Yorkers to "make nice" to party delegates in the city for the four-day convention, where Bush will be nominated for another four-year term.

A second protester shoved a middle-aged woman in a black cocktail dress, shouting:

"Bitch, go home! We don't want you here!" At one point, police cordoned off a city block after several dozen demonstrators jeered and razzed the incoming audience.

one woman had this (over)statement of sweeping cosmic thrust to offer:

“They chose New York, where they’re universally hated,” said writer Laurie Russo, 41, from New York.

and if you STILL aren't convinced about what's motivating these people in lieu of their actually having any ideas or ANYTHING SENSIBLE AT ALL to say, this should help clear it up:

“I hope this shows the world that they’re not alone in their hatred of George Bush,” said Alan Zelenki of Eugene, Ore., who planned for three months to attend this week’s protests.

but when you're taking your cues from people like michael moore, i guess no one should be surprised:

“Fahrenheit 9-11” director Michael Moore told demonstrators that “the majority of this country opposes the war ... The majority are here to say, ‘It’s time to have our country back in our hands.'”

now, i don't know where michael moore went to math school, but i think it must be the same place where he went to political science school, given that estimates for the crowd that i've seen range from 120,000 to 400,000, which is not even a majority of the people living in new york city, let alone THE ENTIRE UNITED STATES.

here is an article (via drudge) in which greek communists seemingly attribute false causation of the cancellation of colin powell's visit to athens to mindless sloganeering. see especially the comments of a communist named aristotle. see also the fact that they didn't even spell powell's name correctly on the giant banner hung on the acropolis, though i'm not surprised, since most modern radicals don't seem to me to scruple over details. it is mind-numbing to me that people would still buy into communism after the events of, oh, say, THE 20TH CENTURY, but it is especially disgusting to see the symbol of the communist party next to a charge that someone else is a killer.

on the subject of what i like to call 'the john kerry fight watch', the DNC has a new ad (text available along with an analysis onfactcheck.org) with him fighting all over the place (forms of the verb 'to fight' capitalized for your identificational ease):

Announcer: It's beneath the office of the President. We were all together in this country after 9/11...and we all wish it had stayed that way. But now President Bush is attacking John Kerry on terrorism. And once again, his facts are wrong.

John Kerry FOUGHT to establish the Department of Homeland Security. George Bush opposed it for almost a year after 9/11.

And John Kerry was FIGHTING for legislation to cut off terrorist money laundering even before 9/11. His proposal became a key part of the Patriot Act.

Now, John Kerry has a plan to FIGHT terrorism the smart way...double the number of Special Forces...focus on nuclear terrorism...and rebuild our international alliances so we can FIGHT terrorism together. John Kerry...a president to make us stronger.

Paid for by Democratic National Committee, www dot democrats dot org. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee. The Democratic National Committee is responsible for the content of this advertisment.

here is a profoundly disturbing article via drudge on the greek composer mikis theodorakis.

see this, and not only because it mentions why dave bergman is neat.

i posted a litte while back about 'stoners for change', or whatever that MoveOn.Org tour is called. on that topic, this, from worldnetdaily.com via drudge, is just too good not to print in full.

HOLLYWOOD VS. AMERICA
Alice Cooper: Anti-Bush acts treasonous morons
Legendary shock artist: 'Rock should never be in bed with politics'

Posted: August 24, 2004
4:15 p.m. Eastern

© 2004 WorldNetDaily.com

Shock-rock legend Alice Cooper calls rock stars campaigning for Democrat John Kerry treasonous morons.

The 56-year-old Cooper says he was disgusted to learn the likes of Bruce Springsteen, John Mellencamp, R.E.M., Sheryl Crow, James Taylor and Dave Matthews were hitting the road for a series of concerts designed to help defeat President Bush.

"To me, that's treason," Cooper told the Canadian Press. "I call it treason against rock 'n' roll because rock is the antithesis of politics. Rock should never be in bed with politics."

"When I was a kid and my parents started talking about politics, I'd run to my room and put on the Rolling Stones as loud as I could. So when I see all these rock stars up there talking politics, it makes me sick.

"If you're listening to a rock star in order to get your information on who to vote for, you're a bigger moron than they are. Why are we rock stars? Because we're morons. We sleep all day, we play music at night and very rarely do we sit around reading the Washington Journal."

"Besides," he continued, "when I read the list of people who are supporting Kerry, if I wasn't already a Bush supporter, I would have immediately switched. Linda Ronstadt? Don Henley? Geez, that's a good reason right there to vote for Bush."

As WorldNetDaily previously reported, Linda Ronstadt was escorted off the property of a Las Vegas casino after publicly supporting Bush-bashing film director Michael Moore, and singer Don Henley was subsequently booed on stage in Orange County, Calif., for expressing support for Linda Ronstadt during one of his own concerts.

Cooper, whose real name is Vincent Damon Furnier, is reportedly a strong Republican who joins Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., at NBA games in Phoenix.

He continues his own summer rock tour, with upcoming dates in the Northeast, Canada, California and Las Vegas.

there is one paragraph that i especially like that bears repeating:

"If you're listening to a rock star in order to get your information on who to vote for, you're a bigger moron than they are. Why are we rock stars? Because we're morons. We sleep all day, we play music at night and very rarely do we sit around reading the Washington Journal."

here is an interesting post on classical values (the site, not the values themselves). check it out!

in the course of diverting myself earlier this evening, i was reading a few pages of tindall and shi's America and came across the following quote by one JFK about richard nixon that seems equally applicable to another JFK:

"Nixon doesn't know who he is," Kennedy told an aide, "and so each time he makes a speech he has to decide which Nixon he is, and that will be very exhausting."

the other day i finished re-reading The Law by frederic bastiat, originally published in french as a pamphlet in 1850, and i enthusiastically commend it. even if one finds all (or most, for that matter) of the positions expounded therein unpalatable, he will find, at the very least, a wonderful example of clear and straightforward prose, which allows the ideas to propel themselves along by their own momentum, as it were--he says what he means and then gets out of the way--and which provides a nice antidote to the jargon-laced rhetoric of much of modern academic prose. that, as i said, is the very least that the reader will find--but i suspect that he will also be struck by how uncannily relevant many of the things discussed are to our modern situation. it is a fine argument for smaller government and a call for that selfsame body to stop doing things (such as stealing) to the citizens of a nation which it would be illegal for the citizens, in the private sphere, to do to one another.

and on that note, i will end with a quotation from william f. buckley via NR via the financial times, recollected on the occasion of his retirement earlier this summer:

'I would electrocute everyone who uses the word "fair" in connection with income tax policies.'

allison and i went to see the polyphonic spree Sunday night. i think they would make a good soundtrack for the teletubbies.

but before that, we went to a couple of museums, and something funny happened. while we were waiting to cross the street, one of those history of philadelphia tour buses went by, and i'm pretty sure mr. T was on it. the haircut and everything.

it's monday, and i guess john kerry's campaign is STILL fighting back. This from an AP story:

CRAWFORD, Texas (AP) - President Bush denounced TV ads by outside groups attacking both John Kerry and himself on Monday and called for a halt to all such political efforts. "I think they're bad for the system," he said.

The president made his comments as the Kerry campaign fought back against charges made by an outside group that the Democratic senator had lied about wartime events in Vietnam for which he received five medals.

the article later states:

"The president ... and (political adviser) Karl Rove have flipped back to the well-worn smear page of their campaign playbook, last used against John McCain in 2000," Kerry's campaign said in a statement Sunday. Voters want to hear about the issues, "not lies and smears, and it's time the president realized that."

i find this more than a little humorous, since the DNC orchestrated nearly their entire convention around kerry's vietnam service, and not 'the issues'. i mean, senator, come on--if voters want to hear about 'the issues', you'd better do some house-cleaning of your own before you worry too much about what anyone else is up to.

man, this image of john kerry as such a 'fighter' just rings completely false to me. sort of like everything else about him. but it just happened again in an AP story:

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Democratic Party launched a costly round of ads Friday to buttress John Kerry's credentials to be commander in chief as the White House accused the Massachusetts senator of "losing his cool" over attacks on his war record.

"John Kerry is a fighter and he doesn't tolerate lies from others," shot back spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter.

sure, stephanie. he just tolerates them from himself. and probably from other people in his political party. and probably other people like michael moore. and probably other people from MoveOn.Org.

cutter had some other irrelevant and sarcastic comments later in the article:

White House spokesman Scott McClellan said several times that the senator's comments showed he had lost his cool, a suggestion that Bush's rival lacked presidential temperament.

"I do think that Senator Kerry losing his cool should not be an excuse for him to lash out at the president with false and baseless attacks," the spokesman told reporters in Crawford, Texas.

"We've already said we weren't involved in any way in these ads," he said. "We've made that clear."

Cutter sought to turn the argument over presidential readiness back on the White House. "Mr. McClellan needs to understand that John Kerry is not the type of leader who will sit and read 'My Pet Goat' to a group of second graders while America is under attack," she said.

that's probably true--because according to kerry, he couldn't even think for the 40 minutes between the strikes on the first and second world trade center towers. this, i suppose, would make it awfully hard to read anything. even a children's story.

but, with all of his whining, we can be sure that he's certainly got one aspect of the childish persona down pat.

ok, so dennis just showed me how to put THE ACTUAL IMAGE FOR THE BOB SEGER T-SHIRT RIGHT HERE ON THIS WEBSITE! you people are so lucky. so without further delay, i give you the masterpiece:

also, if you want to read a little about linguistics and the lofty peaks of arrogant nonsense to which academics often catapult themselves, check out dennis' post here.

the current headline on drudge is a little frightening: KERRY CAMPAIGN CALLS FOR BOOK BAN. i'm a little leary of a candidate for the most powerful elected office in the world wanting to ban books. what was the mantra again about being open-minded and tolerant?

i also think it's a little childish. as far as i know, he never spoke out against any of the slander written/produced about GWB, and the president seems to have taken it all like a grown-up. so i'll take this opportunity to repeat what i said yesterday: stop whining.

ok, to see the design for the new bob seger t-shirt created by my friend varius contrarius, you have to go to this link. do it. DO IT NOW. it is the sweetest t-shirt design i have seen in several moons. if you think it sounds TOTALLY AWESOME and you would like to buy one, let me know. we might even be able to DO IT IN COLOR. all proceeds benefit me.

this, from an AP story, made me laugh:

Sen. John Kerry accused President Bush on Thursday of relying on front groups to challenge his record of valor in Vietnam, asserting, "He wants them to do his dirty work."

boo hoo. first of all, thank mccain-feingold. second of all, i haven't heard kerry denouncing, for example, michael moore and moveon.org, those paragons of truth. i would like to tell him, in my best schwarzenegger: stop whining. but i do like the way kerry is always portrayed as 'fighting back', with his customary 'bring it on line'. to wit:

Fighting back, Kerry said if Bush wants to "have a debate about our service in Vietnam, here is my answer: 'Bring it on.'" Bush served stateside in the Texas Air National Guard during the war.

even though kerry apparently cannot keep his facts straight about several aspects of that period, he probably would rather debate about that than anything like, say, issues, concering which he doesn't have anything interesting or useful to say, and, when pushed, just makes himself sound a lot like president bush with a few international friends. going to war even if we knew there were no WMDs? human life begins at conception? i don't know, john--sounds a lot like someone else i've heard about called THE PRESIDENT.

FactCheck.org, run by the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg Public Policy Center, seems to me to be an eminently useful site. The latest, on John Kerry's lackluster attendance performance at public hearings of the Senate Intelligence Committee, can be read here. The most hilarious part regards the Kerry campaign's own confusion between John Kerry and Bob Kerrey. I quote:

In their eagerness to dismiss the Bush ad's charges, Kerry campaign aides claimed that the senator had been vice chairman of the intelligence committee, which isn't true. In fact, former Senator Bob Kerrey of Nebraska was vice chairman of the panel for several years while Kerry was a more junior member of the panel. John Kerry left the committee in January 2001. He never served as vice chairman, a committee spokesman confirmed to us.

The erroneous claim appeared in several places on the Kerry website, one dating back to January, 2004, and another in a posting Aug. 13 to rebut the Bush ad. It said, "Kerry is an Experienced Leader in the Intelligence Field – John Kerry served on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence for eight years and is the former Vice Chairman of the Committee."Kerry senior adviser Tad Devine told Fox News, which first reported the discrepancy, that the campaign would be "happy to correct the record" if needed:

Devine: I'll have to check with the issues people. It was my understanding he was. But if that's, you know -- but if that's not a factual case, I'm sure we will be happy to correct the record.

Two days later the erroneous claim was still appearing on the Kerry website, however. On Aug. 17 The Associated Press quoted campaign spokesman Michael Meehan conceding the error, adding: "John Kerry, Bob Kerrey -- similar names."

(end quote)

I must admit, however, I find the 'Listen Carefully' section of the article slightly suspect. To me, the meaning of the clause "after the first terrorist attack on the World Trade Center" seems obvious and utterly clear. The author of the article, however, feels that caution is warranted, writing:

The Bush ad also says Kerry was absent for every single Intelligence Committee meeting during the year "after the first terrorist attack on the World Trade Center." That's true. The official records list four public hearings in 1994 -- the year after terrorists set off a truck bomb in the Trade Center's underground garage -- and Kerry is listed as attending none of them. However, those who don't listen carefully to the exact wording of the ad might get the impression that Kerry skipped Intelligence Committee hearings even after the second terrorist attacks -- on September 11, 2001. That would create a false impression. In fact, Kerry left the committee months before the 9/11 attacks.

Anyway, it is a site that is worth perusing.

If you have not done so yet, you might do well to check out Classical Values (not to be confused with 'classic rock'). Perhaps you've noticed the link in the newly updated ‘links’ section here. The jewel of its crown is my friend Varius Contrarius, whose posts are models of lucid, witty and thought-provoking prose. His latest is called 'Wrong, wrong, wrongity wrong wrong!' and comes highly recommended.

What the hell is going on, anyway? Tonight while I was talking to a friend on the phone I heard Richard Buckner. Coming from the TV. On a VOLKSWAGEN COMMERCIAL. Exsqueeze me?

If you are claustrophobic, I would advise you not to drive an automobile on I-95 in the Baltimore-DC corridor. And while we’re on the subject, a funny thing keeps happening to me as I drive away from the DC area on the Capital Beltway—I keep hearing John (Cougar?) Mellencamp (who will be voting for change in november along with many of his fellow 'artists') on classic rock radio (speaking of which, the 'classic rock' station also played U2's 'Mysterious Ways'. I don't dispute that the song might be said to rock, nor, indeed, its status as a classic. Still, I personally do not feel that the umbrella of the genre known as 'classic rock' is large enough to provide shade and shelter for that song). This time the JCM song preceded by around 2 hours or so my arrival at home, at which time I discovered that my delinquent landlord had apparently not come to fix any of the things I’ve been calling him for 2 ½ weeks about. And then I went into the bathroom to find some sort of centipede drowned in the bathtub.

You know what? I got engaged last weekend. It was cool. The (un?)lucky lovely lady, whom you may or may not know, is called allison. I would call some of you personally to tell you this, if only I could find your phone numbers (hint, hint). I even talked to her dad before I proposed. And you know what he was doing when I came in? He was standing at the counter smacking raw ground beef with his bare hands. That was right before her mom took off, leaving us alone in the house. Nervous? Who, ME?

self-important politicking makes strange bedfellows, and that's exactly what the 'vote for change' alliance has done. i didn't think i would ever see the day that would put bright eyes and bruce springsteen on the same bill. i'm not surprised to see such an overinflated abuse of celebrity status from conor oberst, but the boss? i mean, come on! he wrote 'thunder road', forerunner of the entire chamberlain album the moon my saddle (which perhaps you won't like unless you're from the american middle west). death cab for cutie also has sadly jumped on the bandwagon to use its first amendment rights to become a mouthpiece for the democratic party establishment.

mike mills of r.e.m., also involved in the tour attempting to use 'art' (so-called, though not by yours truly) to sway votes in battleground states, had this gem of wisdom to utter:

"R.E.M. is very happy to be a part of the Vote for Change Tour. This unprecedented coming together of musicians underscores the depth of the desire for change in our country's direction, and it feels right to use some of the freedoms granted to us in a democracy to try and effect that change."

unprecedented? ummm...ever heard of woodstock? but, anyway, as long as it feels right...

but i was glad to see that dave matthews is an old-fashioned structuralist, breaking everything down into nice, clean binary oppositions. i quote:

"A vote for change is a vote for a stronger, safer, healthier America. A vote for Bush is a vote for a divided, unstable, paranoid America."

deep, dave. very insightful. john kerry wins and no one is divided anymore, because supporters of the opposition will just roll over and play dead, kind of like the left is doing right now...oh, wait. it's exactly the opposite.

keb' mo' opted to keep his comments, as recorded on moveonpac.org, more vague and contentless, stating:

"It's about showing up and being counted. I'll be there and I hope you will too."

showing up where? being counted where? in attendance at the concert? at the polls?

the artists' declaration begins thusly:

"Vote for Change is a loose coalition of musicians brought together by a single idea--the need to make a change in the direction of our country. We share a belief that this is the most important election of our lifetime. We are fighting for a government that is open, rational, just and progressive. And we intend to be heard."

rousing and inspiring, indeed. i almost raised my fist and shouted nonsensically when i read that. but at least they're limiting themselves to only one idea, because mobs are hard to keep together once you start looking at details. nevermind the fact that, if they were to define their terms, i would probably have to conclude that they're incompatible, because i would guess that some moves they might call 'progressive' are antithetical to a classical and consitutional understanding of justice.

here's the boss, from his own website, speaking in a similar vein:

"I don't think John Kerry and John Edwards have all the answers. I do believe they are sincerely interested in asking the right questions and working their way toward honest solutions. They understand that we need an administration that places a priority on fairness, curiosity, openness, humility, concern for all America's citizens, courage and faith."

i wish someone, just once, could speak with clarity, instead of such misty generalizations as one finds almost without exception: 'all the answers'? 'the right questions'? 'honest solutions'? what 'answers'? what 'questions'? what 'solutions'? does anyone even know? he does have one thing right, though--they don't have all the answers. but you can at least figure that they have several different and mutually incompatible answers to the same question.

speaking of musicians that used to rock, i would now like to speak of a musician who does rock. i went back to wal-mart to pick up my pictures, and did not resist the temptation to get bob seger and the silver bullet band's 'greatest hits vol.2'. i put it on in the car with my mom afterwards, and IT ROCKED SO HARD THAT SHE NOW WANTS TO GET A COPY TOO. no, that is not a joke. it is just sweet.

another aside: when i got my film developed, i also got two roles developed that have been in my shaving bag since sometime after spring break of my sophomore year of college. a couple of highlights: 2 shots of kevin weber giving lewis a mullet in the loft hallway of galloway, one with spectators; and a shot from above of the beau (not verlin) sitting indian-style on the floor reading a book.

it's 54 degrees here right now, which is quite odd for this part of michigan in the middle of august. so much for global warming, the one thing al gore probably DID actually invent (who, unfortunately, seems to have become a grotesque caricature of himself these days).

today i was in the bathroom in a pilot gas station, and a guy came in and used the short urinal, even though there were plenty of standard-height urinals available. it was curious, to say the least.

speaking of bodily functions, does anyone read this blog anymore? if so, please briefly and allusively identify yourselves in the 'comments' section. if it would help to bring some of the old readers back, i could write a haiku.

and now i'm off to find out exactly what a haiku is, anyway.

Man, I tell you what, there have been some gems in the most recent NR (as I began to point out yesterday). Maybe it’s just because I haven’t been able to read the magazine in awhile, but I feel like I have to share some of them with you. So I’m going to. Here’s one:

Most liberals embrace illegal immigrants; they are not, by and large, great
friends of the unborn. But fetus talk can be desirable in the service of
another agenda—as it was in a Kansas City, Mo., immigration case in May. A
pregnant Mexican, in the U.S. illegally, resisted deportation by claiming U.S.
citizen status for her unborn child. U.S. district judge Scott Wright—who has
overturned the Missouri legislature’s partian-birth-abortion ban—agreed, citing
the Unborn Victims of Violence Act. That act recognizes that fetuses bear some
rights, at least when their mothers want them; but it can hardly be said to
confer citizenship, which still requires (see Amendment XIV) birth on American
soil. The Kansas City story is laughable, but not isolated: A similar case has
now arisen in California, to which climes a deported Mexican woman, eight
months pregnant, seeks to return—for her unborn baby’s health. (She has
suffered various complications during her pregnancy.) Lawyers in the
California case are citing the Missouri decision, and the Unborn Victims of
Violence Act; it seems immigration lawyers consider this a fresh, legitimate
approach to fighting deportation. Thus it is that the Left would sooner see
the abortion of potential U.S. citizens that their removal to Mexico. As a
friend of NR observed, they have their newest bumper sticker: “You can
abort ’em, but you can’t deport ’em.”

And speaking of the murder of human beings, here is a disgusting and nearly unspeakable tale:

“Now I’m going to have to move to Staten Island. I’ll never leave my house
because I’ll have to care for these children. I’ll have to start shopping only
at Costco and buying big jars of mayonnaise.” Those were the words of
Manhattanite Amy Richards, in an article in The New York Times Magazine, about
her unexpected pregnancy—with triplets. The unmarried Richards asked her
doctor, “Is it possible to get rid of one of them? Or two of them?” Indeed,
it was. Two of them were “selectively reduced” and Richards later gave birth
to a boy, making it possible for her to avoid the suburbs and wholesale clubs.
Whew. But the outrageousness of this piece goes beyond a woman’s callousness.
There’s also the magazine’s lack of disclosure: The piece appeared as an “as
told to” job and had no identifier for Richards. But Richards is not just any
single New Yorker; she is a prominent feminist activist, the co-author
of ‘Manifesta: Young Women, Feminism, and the Future’, a paid employee of
Gloria Steinem, associated with Planned Parenthood…you get the picture. The
Times, which eventually blamed the nondisclosure on editing, at first claimed
it was unfamiliar with her easily accessible bio—an implausible assertion in
the age of Google. A creepy ending to a creepy story.

Creepy, indeed.

Today I was driving to the local haircuttery to get my locks trimmed. While tempted by the mullet, so popular in Italy right now, I opted for what I like to call the ‘colonial cut’. Don’t get me wrong—I’m not wearing a powdered wig or anything, but I’m not going to say there’s nothing Washingtonian about it (how’s that for a bunch of negatives?). You know the one I mean—real long and thick on the top and sides, over the ears like earmuffs, and a little ponytail in the back. I’m not satisfactory on the ponytail aspect right now, but I’m close. I think I was all the way there until I got a little of it trimmed off.

But anyway: driving reminded me to report one of the great things about being in southeast Michigan, and that is access to two AWESOME classic rock stations—94.7 and 94.5, out of Detroit and Toledo, respectively (a word which Prof. Gaisser tells me is almost always unnecessary). So while on the road, I flipped over to 94.7 (I think), and ‘Heartbreaker’ by Led Zeppelin was on. I said to myself, ‘This is one of the greatest guitar riffs EVER.’ But then, right after that, ‘Living, Loving (She’s Just a Woman)’ came on, and I had to say the SAME THING about that song, too. Talk about rocking!

While reading 1 Kings 4 today, I learned a couple of interesting things. Many of you may be familiar with a movie called ‘Ben Hur’ which involves chariot racing. But what I didn’t know was that Ben-Hur is also among the cast members of 1 Kings, as one of Solomon’s 12 district governors (he was governor of the hill country of Ephraim). And wouldn’t you know that chariots are discusses later in the same chapter (though not with reference to Ben-Hur)?

But I learned another thing as well: it seems that Solomon was something of a proto-Aristotle in both his reputation for knowledge (even with kings) and his love of studying nature. I quote:

God gave Solomon wisdom and very great insight, and a breadth of understanding
as measureless as the sand on the seashore. Solomon’s wisdom was greater than
the wisdom of all the men of the East, and greater than all the wisdom of
Egypt. He was wiser than any other man, including Ethan the Ezrahite—wiser
than Heman, Calcol and Darda, the sons of Mahol. And his fame spread to all
the surrounding nations. He spoke three thousand proverbs and his songs
numbered a thousand and five. He described plant life, from the cedar of
Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of walls. He also taught about animals
and birds, reptiles and fish. Men of all nations came to listen to Solomon’s
wisdom, sent by all the kings of the world, who had heard of his wisdom. (1
Kings 4:29-34, NIV).

Here is an interesting statistic from the print edition of National Review for August 23:

As the number of Americans saying they have no religion rises—from 9 percent to 14 percent over [the] last decade—National Opinion Research Center says Protestants are on verge of losing majority status.

I shall refrain from speculating on duke deangelo beuchamplain’s and the monseigneur cuencxote’s thoughts on this statistic.

But speaking of religion and doing violence to the English language, here is Johann Sebastian Kerry again, as quoted in said issue of National Review:

John Kerry asked, “What if we have a president who believes in
science, so we can unleash the wonders of discovery like stem-
cell research to treat illness and save millions of lives?”

Wait a minute—so science is a religion now?

Ok, so I knew that already and am not surprised at the humble faith of its converts. But what really caught my attention was another confusion of means and ends. Apparently, to his mind, stem-cell research itself is a ‘wonder of discovery’—but I thought stem-cell research was purported to be a means to the end of such ‘wondrous discoveries’ as the cures to diseases, etc.

Apparently, the diligent editors of National Review are fellow travelers on this road with me, since they caught Mr. Kerry’s inappropriate use of an adversative. To wit:

“We value an America that controls its own destiny because it’s
finally and forever independent of Mideast oil,” said Kerry.
“What does it mean for our economy and our national security
when we have only 3 percent of the world’s oil reserves, yet we
rely on foreign countries for 53 percent of what we consume?”
What’s that “yet” doing there? Wouldn’t one expect those
numbers to vary inversely? If we had 100 percent of the world’s
oil, we would import none of it, and vice versa.

by the way, does anybody else realize that right now at wal-mart, bob seger's 'greatest hits vol.2' (including 'the fire down below', 'katmandu', and 'rock 'n roll never forgets'!) is only $9.72? well, i realized it today. and, i tell you what--it boggles the mind that such a treasure-trove of rock 'n roll can be acquired at such a reasonable rate. the chiefs of wal-mart, that paragon of value, should talk to the people running the pennsylvania turnpike.

i found this, from reuters, interesting:

GRAND CANYON, Ariz. (Reuters--Patricia Wilson) - Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry said on Monday he would have voted for the congressional resolution authorizing force against Iraq even if he had known then no weapons of mass destruction would be found.

Taking up a challenge from President Bush, whom he will face in the Nov. 2 election, the Massachusetts senator said: "I'll answer it directly. Yes, I would have voted for the authority. I believe it is the right authority for a president to have but I would have used that authority effectively."

and the challenge?

BUSH CHALLENGE

Bush last week challenged Kerry, who Republicans accuse of flip-flopping on Iraq by voting for the war resolution and against the $87 billion request to fund operations, to say straight out if he would have voted the same way if only to eliminate the danger that Saddam Hussein could have developed weapons of mass destruction.

"Now, there are some questions that a commander-in-chief needs to answer with a clear yes or no," Bush said. "My opponent hasn't answered the question of whether knowing what we know now, he would have supported going into Iraq."

what i find interesting about this is that, despite patricia wilson's 'contextualizing' remarks, as far as i can tell from bush's words quoted here, he didn't ask if kerry would have voted that the president have authority to order an invasion (though perhaps bush implied in other remarks that he was speaking directly of the congressional vote mentioned by kerry--anyone know?). to my knowledge (although i'm not positive about this), bush was given such authority for military action by congress after 9/11. in the case in point, as told by the direct quotes in reuters, bush asked specifically whether kerry would have supported the actual, real invasion which took place (not a potential invasion which comes hand-in-hand with 'authority'). i guess it's expecting a lot to hope for john kerry to speak clearly about ANYTHING AT ALL, but still.

i also enjoyed his apposition in this statement:

"My goal, my diplomacy, my statesmanship is to get our troops reduced in number and I believe if you do the statesmanship properly, I believe if you do the kind of alliance building that is available to us, that it's appropriate to have a goal of reducing the troops over that period of time," he said.

his use of grammar tells me that he equates 'goal', 'diplomacy', and 'statesmanship', as though a 'goal' is not the end toward which the means of 'diplomacy', the techniques of which are presumably fostered out of some sort character- and intellect-based 'statesmanship', work. his 'goal' is in fact (to take him at his word, which, admittedly, is risky business) to 'get our troops reduced in number'; but i would assume that his 'diplomacy' comprises negotiation, coordination and the like with other nation-states; and his statesmanship? well, who can say.

i know i'm being picky with his incredibly sloppy use of his own native language, but it only seems fair when every one of bush's solecisms (and several made-up mistakes to boot, such as the feces/fetus 'story') are plastered across my internet. after all, kerry's the intellectual candidate, right?

here is merriam-webster's delightful word-of-the-day for 8 august:

jimjams \JIM-jamz\ noun plural

: jitters

Example sentence:
"I love cappuccinos, but the caffeine gives me the jimjams," said Paula.

Did you know?
When "jimjams" entered English in the mid-19th century, it probably referred to a specific kind of jitters — the "delirium tremens," a violent delirium caused by excessive drinking. "Jimjams" is not particularly common today, but when it is used in current American English it means simply "jitters." Etymologists aren't sure about the origin of the term. Some speculate that it came about as an alteration of "delirium tremens." Others, though uncertain of the origin of "jim" and "jam," notice that the word follows a pattern of similar words in which one sound is repeated or altered slightly. Interestingly, other words for "jitters" were formed in the same repetitive way — "whim-whams" and "heebie-jeebies" are examples.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

what up folks. back from elsewhere and after a general hiatus i'm ready to get the dave back up and running again.

to inaugurate the re-inceptionation of posting, i'd like to experiment with a couple of new features.

the first comes from lewin and lewin's 'the thesaurus of slang'. in this feature, i randomly flip to a page and pick a term. i then give slang synonyms for said term. so let's see...today's term is 'hard-pressed' (adj.): back to the wall, in the soup, at the end of one's rope, hard-up, up against it, scraping the bottom of the barrel, fighting to keep one's head up, tryin' to stay alive, runnin' out of time, no more cards to play. i think i like 'in the soup' the best of all of these. i would appreciate it if someone could construct a sentence using one of the slang terms in this entry.

the second feature goes like this: i flip to a random page of hirsch/kett/trefil's 'dictionary of cultural literacy' and i enlighten you about something you should know about. today's is from the category 'literature in english'. it is a person. her name is dorothy parker. this is what HKT has to say about her: 'an american author of the twentieth century, known for her often sarcastic wit. parker wrote poems, short stories, film scripts, and reviews of plays and books. her poetry contains some often-quoted lines, such as "men seldom make passes/ at girls who wear glasses."'

and today's quote is from frederic bastiat ('the law'): 'the state is that great fiction by which everyone tries to live at the expense of everyone else.'

anyway, it's good to be back. i hope you are all at peace and clean behind the ears.

hmmm...