Ten MORE Questions That You Won't Hear at the Debates

Yesterday's list was so much fun, I thought I would try it again. Who knows? Maybe if Larry King is hard up for material, he will ask some of these the next time he snags a third-party candidate for an interview.



10. When reporters were choosing who got the "blue" states and who got the "red" states, do you think they were just trying to explain to their editors the presence of poker chips in the conference room?

9. Late at night, when everyone else has gone to bed and you can't sleep, do you ever really wonder what the meaning of word "is" is?

8. At those pancake breakfast fund-raisers, has a supporter ever accused you of not flip-flopping them enough?

7. If your vice president's heart had to be surgically replaced, would you prefer he recieve a human heart, a pig's heart, or some kind of super-human cyborg implant?

6. Do you think Sauron's pursuit of the One Ring is a U.N. matter?

5. If Jimmy Carter offered you advice, would you (a) ask him about that "killer rabbit", (b) call him "Mr. Peanut", or (c) nominate him for the Nobel Peace Prize and hope he goes away?

4. If you were a contestant on THE APPRENTICE, would you be tempted to pinch Donald Trump's cheeks in the board room?

3. Who do you consider more trustworthy and accurate, Dan Rather and CBS News, Fox News, or the average Muppet News Flash?

2. Would you support human cloning, if it was restricted to the female members of the cast of Baywatch?

1. Have your aides ever caught you before a debate practicing "Do you want fries with that?"

Ike, Jr. Endorses Kerry... Or Rather Anti-Endorses Bush

President Eisenhower's son has put up a piece detailing why he is planning on voting for John Kerry. Really, it is why he is voting against Bush, which is another example of the only kind of support the Senator can muster these days. It is never "why I am FOR Kerry", it is always "Why I am AGAINST Bush."

The Republican Party I used to know placed heavy emphasis on fiscal responsibility, which included balancing the budget whenever the state of the economy allowed it to do so. The Eisenhower administration accomplished that difficult task three times during its eight years in office. It did not attain that remarkable achievement by cutting taxes for the rich. Republicans disliked taxes, of course, but the party accepted them as a necessary means of keep the nation’s financial structure sound.

Course, one must admit he has a point. The GOP has always been the party of reducing deficits and strong defense. Right now, we have one without the other.

Cool Science That I Barely Understand!

Okay, so it's not quite that bad. Some cool science came from California yesterday. The future of information storage and communication is here.

Draft Scare Finally Being Debunked

The lunatic left continues it's cries about the Bush White House pushing for a draft, but thankfully the stupid rumor is being debunked by the media. I'm so tired of hearing liberals bring this up. It just reflects that they have NO AGENDA and NO HOPE for the election.

Mt. St. Helens Getting Worse

Earlier this week, we reported that Mount Saint Helens - the volcano that erupted in 1986 - was making a little noise again. Well, since then thing have gotten much, much worse. There were over 1000 earthquakes there in a single day, and the lava dome is visibly rising. Earlier scientists expected a little burp of steam to be the end of this. Now, there is the possibility of a full-scale eruption. Nothing compared to the explosion of my youth, but still a pretty big deal which may require evaculations all around. So a volcano advisory has been issued and residents may want to plan on spending the weekend elsewhere.



Hal Lindsey also has up a crackpot analysis of the increased activity of hurricanes, volcanoes, and the like this year. It is nice to know in a day and age when everything is moving at the speed of light, that there are still doomsday prophets ready to walk the streets with their old timey posterboards that say "The End of the World is Nigh!"

Top Ten Questions that Should Be Asked at the Debates, But Wont

Everyone else is posting this kind of a listing on their sites, obviously scornful of the "scripted and overcontrolled nature" of the Presidential Debates this year. (Does anyone else find it funny that the more campaigns cater to television programming, the more television personalities complain about them?) So here is Mod-Blog's list of must-ask questions:



10. How often do you visit Mod-Blog in a given week? If less than once a day, doesn't this demonstrate that your administration has misplaced priorities?

9. Where do you stand on the Galactic Civil War in Star Wars? Do you consider yourself more of a Jedi Master or a Sith Lord?

8. Do you prefer to using words that don't exist, or taking positions that are not really your own? Why?

7. How do you plan to deal with the coming crisis of no more Philip K. Dick stories to make into ill-concieved movies like PAYCHECK?

6. What role does hair play in a good Vice President?

5. If you were a superhero, would you conveal your secret identity by wearing a mask or relying on the public not recognizing you in glasses?

4. If you had a choice, would you prefer the Secret Service give you the codename "Skippy the Wonder Kid" or "Iam Notacrook"?

3. Are you now or have you ever been a member of a Star Trek fan club? Original Series or Next Generation?

2. Which do you prefer to call the War in Iraq: Cold War II, World War III, Police Action the Movie, or That There Thing In That Sandy Place?

1. What is your position on illegal aliens? Shouldn't Vulcans and the Mon Calamari be given the same rights as the rest of us?

The Newest Dummies Guide

It was bound to happen eventually. =)

FoxNews Beats All Comers

Wonder why FoxNews seems to be the target of so much bad-mouthing this year? Well, it turns out it is now the #1 cable news channel, easily beating out even CNN for the crown as the most-watched network.

According to Nielsen Media Research, Fox News averaged 1.8 million viewers, while CNN, MSNBC, CNBC and Headline News averaged a combined total of 1.7 million. The quarter ended Sunday...CNN came in a distant second, averaging 882,000 viewers, while MSNBC drew 421,000. Headline News averaged 226,000 in primetime, and CNBC attracted a paltry 133,000.

Personally, I still prefer CNN for most of my news. Fox is fine and all, but it doesn't have the same breadth of world news. But you have to wonder whether the reason for this success is that FoxNews gets it right, or because the others get it wrong. Or because all of the viewers who left CBS News over the filegate fiasco decided that FoxNews was the only one who got that right?

Nintendo DS Is a WiFi Monster?

I don't know about the rest of you, but I have been underwhelmed by reports about the upcoming Nintendo DS gaming system. The new system looks pretty silly, looks bulky, and the big selling point is multiple screens, as though the big problem with the Gameoys or GameBoy Advance systems has been not enough screen real estaste. (The real problem - as any GBA user can tell you - is not enough horsepower!) But Engadget has up an interesting article which claims the Nintendo may have one killer new feature: WiFi Repeating. This new system would use the WiFi standard for networked gaming (WiFi = 802.11b = Apple Airport) but instead of just looking for a base station, the DS itself would act as a hub and repeater. This means, supposing the DS reached 100 feet, that not only can I play with any user within 100 feet of me, but with any user within 100 feet of any user within 100 feet of me! Imagine the kind of network parties and impromptu sessions that could be held in Malls or Airports where literally hundreds of users could be bouncing around the signals of their peers. If true, this could actually give users a real reason to upgrade!

WWMD? (What Would Megatron Do?)

Ever wondered how your favorite super heroes or super villains would vote? Check it out and find out!



I disagree with their choices, but you have to admit this is hilarious!!!

Tool Award

You know, it must be so tough to be a journalist these days! You really have to feel bad for a guy (who gets paid more a year than you'll see in a lifetime) when those pesky bloggers start to ruin the biz for him. Here's the thesis he develops,

The way to the top of journalism was no longer to test yourself on police beats and city hall assignments, under the skeptical gaze of editors who demanded precision in writing and careful weighing of evidence. It was to make a reputation as a clever wordsmith, a feisty advocate, a belligerent or beguiling political personality, and then market yourself to the media.



These hires were made by executives who themselves had little commitment to the solid and steady journalistic values that come from working a beat for a sustained period of time. They were looking for quick fixes for their circulation or ratings -- and they thought the star system or the "big story" would save them.



But to their dismay, TV news show ratings continued to decline, newspaper circulations slumped and the fickle public -- whose wishes editors now took as their command -- switched to even more sensational outlets: the cable talk shows and infotainment formats that put argument, gossip and amusement at the top.



When the Internet opened the door to scores of "journalists" who had no allegiance at all to the skeptical and self-disciplined ethic of professional news gathering, the bars were already down in many old-line media organizations. That is how it happened that old pros such as Dan Rather and former New York Times editor Howell Raines got caught up in this fevered atmosphere and let their standards slip.

It's so obvious! It's the bloggers that have forced Dan Rather to be such a lousy newsman for the past two decades! And see, it's the bloggers that make Hairy Wolf Blitzer keep repeating the same stupid liberal talking points. It's all the bloggers fault that the news media has gone corrupt. Jason Blair, Dan Rather, etc etc...It's all the bloggers' fault!



For being an intergral part of the elite media establishment that claims to love "freedom of speech" as long as it's his own freedom of speech and not others, for whining about a loss of integrity and blaming the only people who bother to use a fact checker for that loss, for covering over your cohorts failures and pretending to be appalled at them, and for being a general cry baby with nothing to say, for displaying just how useless the media has become, I applaud you David S. Broder. You are a tool!

Good Read on the Candiates and Their War Records

MSNBC has a good piece up discussing the Vietnam records of the candidates. It gives some good insight into the debate and burried away on page three is a nugget that you won't hear the press develop too deeply,

The standard rap against Bush is that he was ducking combat by joining the Guard. Actually, the Texas Air Guard had a program called Palace Alert that allowed pilots to volunteer for flight time in Vietnam. Three of Bush's fellow pilots—Udell, Woodfin and Fred Bradley—recalled to NEWSWEEK that Bush inquired with the base commander about signing up for Palace Alert. He was told no; he had too few flying hours at the time and his plane, the F-102, was by then deemed obsolete for air combat.

Now how likely are you to hear James Carville admit that there are now people on record accounting for the President's service? Is he going to pay them the money that he has been promising to anyone who will come forward? Somehow I doubt it. After all, these are vets who aren't bad-mouthing the President so I'm sure they're just lying baby killers in Carville's eyes.

Mod-Blog Passes 1000 Visits!

In Five months, we've hosted just over one thousand visitors to the site. I really didn't know if we'd ever get to this point, so thanks to our readers for visiting. Now start commenting! Just kidding...Sort of. We appreciate your time reading the blog and thank you for coming along. If you happen to be moved by an article though, feel free to let us know (hint hint wink wink) because we do like feedback. Thanks again for reading and we hope you continue to enjoy the blog!

Big Al Qaida Arrest?

Pakistan is claiming again that they have caught OBL's number two man. We've heard before that Zawahri had been trapped in Pakistan so I'll wait for some visual evidence. But this would certainly be a major blow to al Qaida and OBL if it's true. And, I would hope that after the last blunder concerning the supposed capture of this man, that Pakistan would be very careful before announcing anything.

The Return of Mount Saint Helens!

One of the formative experiences of my youth was the explosion of Mt. St. Helens in the 1980s which spewed hot rock and magma all over Washington State and deposited a thick layer of ash on cars as far away as Connecticut and Maine. It got me interested in geology and made me fascinated with vulcanology in particular in a way which endures to this day. Does anyone my age not remember the stories of the old man who would not leave the mountain who was covered with lava the morning of the eruption? Well, it appears everyone's favorite volcano is getting ready to do it again. With nearly constant earthquakes, scientists are unsure if we are seeing a result of water seepage (destabilizing the structure) or of magma moving beneath the surface. After 20 years, the old mountain remains a mystery!

The First Image-Based Virus in the Wild

Up until now, it was never possible to get a virus merely by viewing an image on a computer. However, due to a vulnerability in the way Microsoft OSes (i.e. Windows) handles JPEG files, the first image-based virus has been seen in the wild. Please note this does NOT affect Macintosh or Linux computers at this time. Actually, the program is more of a trojan horse than a virus, upon being viewed, it installs software that could allow a remote hacker to take over your system. Beware!

More Narnia Movie News!

Dark Horizons has up a new report from the director and producers of the new Narnia movies, starting with The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe.

The lion Aslan came up and they confirmed he'll be 99.5% CGI, though as photorealistic as technology can be these days. The other 0.5% is animatronics and I'll go into more detail about that when I'm allowed to release more details. The Stone table scenes are being shot right now. No voice has yet been cast for Aslan.

If the directors can do for C.S. Lewis what Peter Jackson did for J. R. R. Tolkien, then we are in for a Golden Age of film!

Do Not Forget Terry!

The news broke late last week that the sad case of Terry Shiavo had taken another turn for the worse. No doubt in hopes of being lost in the weekend news cycle, especially with hurricane Jeanne bearing down on Florida, the Florida Supreme Court announced that they were overturning "Terry's Law" whichy gave Jeb Bush the power to force Mrs. Shiavo's hospital to keep up life support, against the wishes of her husband (and in line with the wishes of her parents). And "life support" means feeding her - Terry is capable of breathing on her own, and responds to external stimuli, despite a diagnosis of "persistent vegatative state." I know some Mod-Blog readers may have missed the news on Friday, so I wanted to repost it today.



Keep an eye on this one. If it goes the way I think it will, this may become the only issue in Florida for the presidential election.

The Flying Car

About a year ago, Kevin Smith posted a foul-mouthed discussion between the stars of Clerks on "the flying car" of the 1960s that never came to be. Well, now the New York Times has up an article on modern flying car designers. Apparently, some even feel like 9/11 may have set the stage for a new generation of flying cars for use in rescue work. Imagine how many might have been saved from the Towers, if you could have flown right up to the windows of the upper offices and let people just step out?

Truth In Peanuts

How many of us have NOT had this conversation at some point with a female? Unfortunately, most of us are Charlie Browns and not smart enough to be Snoopys.



Sigh. Why are all men clueless and all women hopelessly confused? You have to wonder how God keeps the world spinning with all of us dopes just barely holding on.

One Man, One Vote Not Enough for the Boortz?

TownHall.Com has up an article by Niel Boortz where he argues that the concept of "one man, one vote" is foolish. He argues that either voters should recieve a competency test showing a minimum of political knowledge and understanding, or that votes should be issues on a "shares" basis where those who pay more in taxes get more "shares." Thus, Bill Gates would get something like 100,000 votes, the average man would get 1 vote, and anyone on welfare would get no votes.



This is just insane. Well, not insane but definitely against the ideas that founded America. Our idea is that anyone who matters gets a vote. A vote is what gives every citizen power, and ensures that every person has a stake in society. Without this, those who are already at the bottom of socety are given no place within it, and those at the top are ensured to stay there for all time.

Terri Schiavo Killed By Florida Supreme Court?

If you have not yet heard the horrible story of Terry Shiavo then you have been living under that rock for far too long. Mrs. Shiavo was in a car accident several years back which damaged her brain, leaving her in a very poor state. She has been on life support since the early 90s, and is being cared for by both her parents and her husband. Since then, her husband has found someone else and essentially given up hope of his first wife's recovery, while her parents are firm in their belief that she can be saved... or at least that she should be given a chance to live. Her husband declares that she is a vegetable - brain dead - and wants to have the feeding tube removed. Her parents declare that she responds to them and knows they are there, and want to have the feeding tube kept in place, so she will live. Last year, after the courts mandated that the doctors take the husband's order over the parents, the Florida legislature passed a very specific law giving Jeb Bush the right to order the feeding tube left in. Governor Bush gave the order, and Mrs. Shiavo lives. Well, the Florida Supreme Court has nullified this law under a "separations of power" argument and it appears the U.S. Supreme Court can not intervene (no federal issue).



It is time for people to learn that the "checks and balances" of the Constitution exist precisely because no branch of government is going to voluntarily reign in their own authority. The Florida Supremes ruling essentially says that no other branch of government can overrule a judge, leaving us with no balance. This is one of those rare cases where the only way to do right is to violate the ruling. Jeb Bush should refuse to change his order, the Florida attorney general should refuse to prosecute him over it, and the Florida legislature should refuse to impeach Mr. Bush. Civil disobedience is not only the domain of the individual citizen.



Of course, either way, this is sure to become an election issue for Florida - who will protect the innocent? And based on reactions last time around, it might just become the only issue that ultimately decides Florida voters.

It's Funny Because It's True

You know it is. Don't try to deny it.

Cat Stevens, Mistake or the Right Call?

There's been a bit of buzz around lately about the refusal to accept Yusaf Islam into America this past week. He claims he's a victim and so do the Arab talking heads. He says that he's done a lot for peace, and he has demonstrated against war. Of course, we remember his charming comments about killing Rushdie for speaking against, and therefore, disgracing the Qur'an. But I've been willing to take his counter-claim (that he was misinterpreted) at face value. So was it a mistake to not let him into the country? It's hard to say, but a couple of people have been pretty busy digging into it.



Michelle Malkin finds some interesting goods on Cat and she's not the only one. I wonder how long it will take before the media picks up on these links? They're so busy asking Tom Ridge what links Yusaf has to terror groups that apparently haven't had time to do the simple research that bloggers have done in a day. Those pesky pajama clad slacker bloggers!

Dogs Can Smell Cancer?

FoxNews is reporting that a British study has proven what anecdotal evidence has shown for years: dogs can smell out cancer in their owners. Apparently, the abnormal proteins that cancer cells cause the body to produce can be sensed by man's best friend more easily than current testing machines. Doctors are skeptical that this will lead to a canine-based test anytime soon, but they are hopeful that it could lead to a better understanding of cancer's chemistry and perhaps better machines based on a puppy's nose.



For now, I'll just be nervous everytime our dog Biscuit takes an unusual interest in any of my moles.

Free iPod Mini...

...if you join Ongo Bongo and pay for 12 months of membership. Basically, they aim to be the NetFlix of CDs. You pay $22/month and can rent an unlimited (3 at a time) CDs from their library, which you are free to encode to your "free" iPod Mini. It is "free after rebate" but still... I know some college students I could see jumping for this deal!

Kerry: Clairvoyance Sold Separately!

Not only does he insult the a guest and leader of a free country, but then Kerry insist on telling us how he, John Frankenkerry, knows the situation better in Iraq then the Prime Minister does! Wow! We really should elect this guy President...Not only does he have the power to remote view but he can also see the situation better than the people on the scene! Amazing! He really puts the stuped in stupendous!

Kerry: Now With Insult and Condescension Mode!

Hardly a day has passed in this last week when John Kerry hasn't personally insulted some Republican and I suppose we're all getting used to that already. But now, it appears he's not happy just insulting the leader of the free world but he must also insult visiting leaders of other nations. How pompous can one kinda-man be? I hope people hear and see this kind of talk from Kerry more often.

John "16:3" Kerry? Nope.

Have you recently gotten an e-mail about John Kerry that went something like this?

Kerry gave a big speech last week about how his faith is so "important" to him. In this attempt to convince the American people that we should consider him for president, he announced that his favorite Bible verse is John 16:3...Of course the speech writer meant John 3:16, but nobody in the Kerry camp was familiar enough with scripture to catch the error. And do you know what John 16:3 says? John 16:3 says; "They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me." The Spirit works in strange ways.

Or maybe you read the same thing about George W Bush. Apparently, it has even gone around about Al Gore back in 1999. But it is just an urban legend. The closest thing to it came from Cal Thomas about George Bush, Sr. But even then, there were apparently no other witnesses.

How Do You Day "Mushroom Cloud" in French?

Okay, let me pose a hypothetical for you. Let's say you have a country who was once an ally, but has openly declared themself as a "balance" to the USA. They have opposed policies against terrorists, and against known tyrants like - oh, say - Sadaam Hussein, and run for office on a platform which is little more than Anti-America. Hypothetically, how would you reward such a nation?



Well, apparently in real life, you send them a whopping load of plutonium. The BBC is reporting that the USA is sending a load of weapons-grade plutonium to France on a British freighter. This is apparently the first-time such potential mushroom-cloud-fodder has been transported between nations. All earlier transports on record were of non-weapons-grade stuff, and would at least require a thief to do some processing to become a nuclear power.



I don't get it. I just don't get it.

WHY LEADERS CAN'T LEAD

Interesting paradoxes from "Why Leaders Can't Lead" by Warren Bennis.



Among other accomplishments, Bennis has served as faculty @ Harvard, Exec VP @ SUNY Buffalo, and president @ U of Cincinnati. Here's a quote I thought you might appreciate:



"Government has ranged from small and informal to big and effective to big and dumb, blinded now by it's own red tape, functioning more of, by, and for itself than for us... We are capable of virtually destroying the world, but we cannot deal with tiny bands of terrorists. Cigarette and liquor consumption is down, but marijuana and cocaine consumption is up. The Beatles have been succeeded by the Beastie Boys... Our typewriters are now word processors, but we seem to have little to say, and what we do say we say badly... Everything mechanical has evolved, become better, more efficient, more sophisticated, while everything organic - from ourselves to tomatoes - has devolved. Like the new tomatoes, we lack flavor and juice and taste. Manufactured goods are far more impressive than the people who make them. We are less good, ...and less sophisticated with each passing decade."



Some of these truths can be inspiring as we have a great opportunity to affect change in future generations through the children and subordinates within our sphere of influence. After what seems to be an endless stream of abuses & misuses of power such as Watergate, JFK, Martin Luther, and Vietnam (not to mention more recent events) -- we have denied legitimacy to all traditional authority. I've been told that Anti-establishmentarianism is one of the longest words in the Dictionary... it's certainly gone a long way to deteriorate the fabric of our society. Yet, though we have rejected leadership (somewhat understandable), we have never before had a greater need for leaders! What a paradoxical profundity!

Fisking the UN

The WSJ tears Kofi apart. What a hypocrite. How much longer will we continue to tolerate the joke that the Stupid Brigade has become? I only hope that the blogsphere keeps the Oil-for-Keeping-Saddam-in-Power-so-That-he-can-Continue-Killing-his-Own-People-and-Making-a-Mockery-of-the-World-Program highlighted as the mainstream press does everything in their power to forget that disgrace.

The Lunatic Left at it Again

Right Wing News has hit the nail of the head with their assesment of the latest draft scare. It's really a shame that people buy into this garbage. How desperate must the left be?

Forget Same-Sex Marriage, Brittany Can't Get Traditional Marriage Right

Sigh. I have really been trying to ignore Ms. Spears/Mrs. Federline's show marriage. She messed everything up the first time with the boyhood sweetheart (and if she was trying to build something for her career, wouldn't that have been a better way to go?). So this time, she goes 100% Hollywood with the wedding. And now, CNN is reporting that the marriage is not legal, because they never bothered to get a marriage license. Brittany says that they are married "in a spiritual sense" and the license is just a piece of paper. But all the people I know who said the same thing, were folks who were split up a few months later, because the lack of a piece of paper reflected a lack of real commitment in the relationship.



But what do I know? I'm still single and young 'uns like Ward are getting married all around me.

The Wrong Message

The story about Dobson predicting the end of Bibles in public places has been out for a few days, but now we have pictures of the fliers going along with the campaign.



This is completely the wrong message to be on about. Come on folks, John Kerry will probably not make a good President if he's elected but he's hardly going to start banning Bibles. And I know, he is supported by lunatic leftist groups that would love to see it happen but that doesn't mean our Bibles won't be safe any more. Let's rise above fear tactics and actually discuss the many flaws that John Kerry displays on a daily basis.

Kofi and the Stupid Brigade

As if we needed any more reason to be reminded how utterly useless and retarded the UN has become, we now have Kofi equating the prisoner abuse scandal to terrorists acts and Saddam's regime. Don't let it be said that moral equivalence is dead in this world body!



You know, maybe I could take the Stupid Brigade a little more seriously if Kofi would actually get off of his rear end and lead the UN to do something about the situation in Sudan. You want to talk about the "rule of law?" How about the way Kofi has refused to even acknowledge genocide in that country? The UN has been as hesitant about dealing with Sudan as they were about Iraq. It makes one wonder if perhaps there aren't more deep, dark secrets in the UN's closet.



Despite my disgust with our own nation's lack of action, at least President Bush is calling for a collective training of African forces to deal with the situation. But this too was met with a cold reception at the UN. Apparently, they just don't like anything that might cause their collective ease to be ruffled at all. What a waste this organization has become.



He is right, the rule of law is at risk. And that risk continues to grow every time we allow this idiotic organization to sit by why innocents suffer just so that they can mock and deride the US for doing the job that 17 resolutions supported but no one else was willing to do.

Sony Announces Smaller, Thinner PSTwo

Sony has officially announced the "PSTwo", a smaller, slimmer version of the Playstation 2. The new version is 25% of the size of the original, and will include an integrated online feature set, including both an Ethernet port for those with cable internet or DSL, and a modem port for those with plain old dial-up. Engadget has up the best coverage with pictures, for now. The new version is set to start selling November, which means it will be available for the Christmas season.



Great deal. My only problem? It is far less of a design change (visually) than the PSOne was over the Playstation, so there is a lot less coolness to induce people to rebuy what they already have. But maybe it'll be cooler in person.

There Is a New Poll!

Please check out the new poll.



It is to the right of the stories, scroll down below the links list.



Which of John Kerry's Positions on the Iraq War do you like the best?

- "I voted for the War before I voted against it."

- "I support the War, but not the way President Bush has waged it."

- "I oppose the War, and would not have toppled Sadaam Hussein from power."

- "There are two Americas. I support one America fighting the war, and not the other."

- "I supported the War, until I learned it was Dan Rather and CBS News who authenticated the pre-war intelligence on WMD."

Guess What Just Arrived On My Doorstep

No, it was not new documents from John Edwards cub scout troop criticizing him for disobeying orders to "drop that cookie." (CBS News, call me. The inkjet should be done printing them in a few minutes!) It is something far more meaningful to my life.



I want to hear the candidates positions on the Dark Side! Did Mr. Kerry vote for the Empire, before he voted against it? Did President Bush misunderestimate Darth Vader? These are critical issues!!!

Lockhart and Burkett: What Happened at the Meeting?

It's just come out now that Kerry advisor Joe Lockhart met with Bill Burkett just as CBS was preparing their memogate story. It would be interesting to see how a Kerry advisor just happened to be down in Texas visiting the man who had just leaked documents to CBS. I wonder what they did speak about, if not the documents? I'm not going to go out on a limb and say that there was definite collaboration and that this reflects just how corrupt the Kerry campaign is at this point.



However, I will remind our readers of a not-too-distant-time when Anthony Scallia was being harassed by the left to recuse himself from the Halliburton issue because he had gone fishing with Dick Cheney some weeks before. I seriously doubt that we will hear such noble indignation from the left this time around.

New x86 Emulation Technology Coming to a Mac Near You?

Ever since a new start-up company showed off an Apple G4 Powerbook playing an x86 (i.e. Intel or AMD) compiled version of Quake at near-native speeds, people have been wondering what this new technology might mean for the relative dearth of games for the Macintosh platform. Now MacOSRumors is reporting that Apple may be considering integrating this technology into MacOS X 10.4, a.k.a. Tiger. While this seems unlikely to me (they had their chance when they first introduced MacOS X 10.0 without a "Red Box") it is interesting. And if this software is as amazing as the marketing department claims (and since when is anything as great as marketing claims?) then it might really change the processor landscape everywhere, and provide the MacOS on an Intel platform with no new programming!

John Kerry Has a Position on Iraq!!!

Amazingly, John Kerry has finally taken a position on the Iraq War. And apparently, he is against it. Or would be. Sorta.

Sen. John Kerry said Monday he would not have overthrown Saddam Hussein had he been in the White House

You have to hand it to John Kerry. How many candidates would have the guts to take the side of a mass murdering dictator known for his use of chemical weapons, over the President of the United States. Especially, when you formerly were one of the guys who voted to give this same president authority to overthrow that dictator? I think not even Howard Dean would be so... uh... gutsy.

Excuse Me, The Deceased Is on the Phone

FoxNews is reporting that a Newfoundland man caused considerable confusion, when he phoned his daughter in the middle of his own funeral. Apparently, a body of a homeless man had been mistakenly identified as his own, after it was mutilated in a traffic accident. The man learned about the funeral while away, and called up to find out what he was missing. Allegedly, he had been hoping to sign the Guest Book.



You have to wonder if it was CBS who authenticated his death?

Memogate...The Honeymoon is Over

Now that CBS has come out and basically said "We're stupid and bitter and partisan", the rest of the media is back peddling on their indictments of that station. We've heard every news outlet in the past week talk about how "serious" and "bad for credibility" this whole affair has been. I've actually been in shock about how well the big news organizations have jumped on this after it was picked up.



Apparently, these organizations now realize just how damaging something like this could be, not only to CBS, but to their own business as well. And they must have realized just how humiliating it is that it took a bunch of "guys in their pajamas" to find the truth. That's the only explanation for the near about face that the media took immediately after CBS' announcement today.



Jeff Greenfield said on CNN earlier today, "I just...It makes you wonder how this would have gone if it hadn't been Rather. Because...You know, the conservatives have really had it out for Rather since Watergate. And...I just wonder how the conservatives would have handled this if Fox News had broken the story, if you can imagine that happening, because I think they would have believed it."



The LA Time took the chance to point out that it was a conservative blogger who first noticed the problems with the font. They also take plenty of time to point out that he's not a type expert, he's "just" a Republican blogger. That's funny, CBS had experts who couldn't figure it out, supposedly but a "guy in his pajamas" could figure it out in two hours.



I can't blame the news media for fearing the demise of their world of influence and all. But, it's time for them to just get over it. Perhaps, just maybe they wouldn't be in such trouble if they actually stuck to reporting the news in honest ways instead of pushing partisan garbage on us. But that's asking a lot.

The Mod-Blog Family Grows: Guest Bloggers!

You will soon find another text color or two showing up around on Mod-Blog on occasion. My beautiful fiance will be posting from time to time on some things that she would like to speak her mind about. Scott will also be posting about various topics as the mood strikes him. So please welcome both of them on board to the Mod-Blog Staff.

Kofi Annan, Frog, and the Stupid Brigade (Formerly Known as the UN)

Kofi's absurd speech labeling the removal of a brutal dictator as "illegal" was hailed by the Frog before the words had reached the back of the room. Little surprise there, I suppose. That's understandable, rallying the stupid brigade and all. But why would the head of the UN make an announcement like this out of the blue when everyone already knows his feelings about the invasion?



Hmmm...I wonder? Could it have to do with the avalanche of evidence pointing to how corrupt the UN has become? Maybe because that "illegal" war (which was supported by 17 resolutions) has helped to bring to light how dirty major UN officials were in their dealing with Saddam? Could it have been to fit one last jab in before the President speaks at the UN this week? The UN is nothing more than a dirty sinking ship full of rats. It's about time to give it a burial and move on to something better.



The Heritage Foundation didn't waste any time jumping all over this one. Too bad the rest of the press will give him a pass.

This is Terribly Familiar

It seems that we've seen this before. Will we ever learn?

CBS News Finally Comes Clean

The New York Times is reporting that CBS News is going to issue an announcement this week admitting they were misled by their sources on the Memogate (or RatherGate or FontGate or whatever your local announcer calls the story) documents. Apparently, despite the original claims, the documents were sent to CBS News anonymously aaided by a former National Guard officer named Bill Burkett. There has been considerable speculation about Mr. Burkett's political affiliations and whether he may have been the one who created the false documents. But as of now, it is unclear his exact role in this whole mess.



And now comes the inevitable next question. What does this mean for the career of Dan Rather, uber-anchor, and Mary Mapes, the producer who brought this story to him? At the very least, this probably should cause Mr. Rather to take a small break from reporting. If I were Rather, I would announce a "voluntary sabattical" until about mid-October which would allow him to return in time to report on the last weeks of the election, but would satisfy most who would otherwise be calling for his head.

An Answer to Fahrenheit 9/11?

A new group (probably one of the infamous 527s) has up a trailer for a new documentary called "Celsius 41.11". The gimick of the title, besides being an obvious takeoff of Michael Moore's obvious take-off, is that it is the "temperature at which the brain begins to die." I have no idea whether the film will be any good - at least Mr. Moore is a skilled documentary filmmaker and humorist - but the trailer itself is very powerful and worth a look. If you saw the commercials for Fahrenheit 9/11, and wondered if Michael Moore lived in the same world where the towers fell, this may be the antidote.



It appears the funding organization Citizens United is a "conservative thinktank". i.e. A group of highly conservative partisans who want to influence the election. I liked the trailer and they have up several other interesting commercials that I'll be taking a look at. Looks like the "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth" aren't the only people that MoveOn.Org has inspired to answer John Kerry.

Why Does CNN Still Employ Begala and Carville?

This week one of the big news stories this week has been is the takeover of the Kerry campaign by Clintonistas like James Carville and Paul Begala. I have been waiting all week for an announcement by CNN that these two hyper-partisans are no longer their hosts for Crossfire. Instead, they are still hosts and CNN almost seems to be gloating over their employment of key Kerry advisors.



Get a clue, CNN! The reason the public trusts the big news agencies less and less these days (except for Fox News) are these kinds of clear conflicts of interest. It was bad enough when Viacom had 60 Minutes hawking the newest novels from their publishing arm. But now, you actually have John Kerry's campaign heads "commenting" on the race. I don't care how official their capacity is, this is a clear conflict of interest or at the very least a strong appearance of impropriety. Unless you plan to get Karl Rove and Andrew Card to serve as the conservative co-hosts of Crossfire, get these people off the air!!!

India Pushing for a Permanent Security Council Seat

Britain is planning to support India's move to obtain a permanent seat on the Security Council. At this point, I have to honestly say that I don't know what I think of this. It's certainly true that the East needs to be represented fairly on the Security Council but I'm not sure that India has proven itself a stable and responsible nation yet.



Don't misunderstand me here. I'm not saying anything disparaging about India. But the VJP still has considerable power even after losing in the recent elections. And their brand of hateful, persecution style violent politics is not something that we should be condoning, let alone giving permanent member status to. Until the extremist are out of power, I can't support putting any country into a permanent position of power like that.

There is No Link Between Saddam and Terrorist...There is No Link

That's what the left would love to have you believe. But that might not be so true...



Fox is reporting that the link might be closer than we thought. Apprently, Saddam might have funneled money into an account known to be used by terrorist for some twenty years. Even more telling is the apparent use of Oil-for-Food money being used to support terrorism.



This once again gives evidence as to why so many countries didn't want us to go into Iraq, because they knew that the truth would eventually come out about how corrupt not only the UN is but also how blatently many countries (France and Russian especially) had been in funding Saddam. Now who's breaking international law?



The piece is very long and goes into a lot of names and details so I would encourage you to go and read it yourself just to make sense of it.

Speed Bump Does It Again

You gotta love it!

Johnny Ramone Dies

Another rocker has left this world. You could argue on how great the Ramones were, but they were certainly a force in the rock world. Johnny especially stuck out as not only one of the few conservative rockers, but even more strikingly as a conservative punk rocker.

Kerry's New Approach: Relevance?

Is it possible that John Kerry has actually decided to talk about something important with two months left in the campaign? It struck me as almost novel yesterday when I heard him attack the President's handling of post-war Iraq as incompetent. He's spent months attacking the war (which went absurdly well) and the reasons for war (which are still plenty) but now I think Kerry might actually be finally finding a message.



There's no doubt that a great number of Americans, even those of us who supported the war, are frustrated with the manner in which the post-war process has happened. The Bush White House has been arrogant and unwilling to change in face of a growing threat from violent terrorists. In many ways, the President has bungled the "occupation" and has refused to deal with it. It seems lately as if the policy is "Pretend everything's good until after the election." I remember when we were hearing that the attacks would ease off after the transfer of power, instead they're becoming more brazen. True, there have been less American deaths but the violence is escalating and becoming more open. If Kerry can erode away the perception of the President as a capable Commander-in-Chief, then he might also be able to erode the President's strong ratings in the WOT. But we will see if Kerry can keep up a constant message and if that message will find support among the voters.

Star Wars DVD Reviews Coming Online!

If you have been reading this space for any period of time, you know that I am a Star Wars Freak. Now, I don't own any Darth Vader masks, I haven't constructed my own R2-D2 coffee table, and I don't end every conversation with "May the Force be with you." But I am still a major fan of Sir George's original trilogy, and even a major apologist for the new trilogy and the special editions. So I am pleased to note that AICN has up their review of the Star Wars Original Triology DVDs. This review is worthy of special note for actual pictures of some of the new changes that have been added since the Special Editions hit the theater. No, Jar-Jar does not reveal that he is Chewie's father. But the changes seem largely positive, including another change to the Han-Greedo scene which is probably a half-hearted admittance that Lucas's original change was wrong. As always, be aware that AICN's stuff includes mild profanity, and that they have an unmoderated TalkBack area that can include gratuitous profanity and idiocy. But it is worth it to get a peek at the goodies awaiting us September 21. My set is already preordered.

Is the War on Terrorism like World War III or Cold War II?

William Safire has up an interesting piece on Townhall.Com which raises the question of just how seriously we are taking the war in Iraq. He cites a piece from a prominent sociologist who notes that we are spending less on our military - as a percentage of GNP - than we did in the year 2000, when we were at peace. He goes on to question whether we can really hope to win this war on the cheap, when in World War II we were spending upwards of 30% of our GNP on the military. Essentially, he makes the argument that we need to dig in for a World War II-style conflict, where we use all of our resources to combat terrorism everywhere and anywhere.



The problem in my mind is that the War on Terrorism looks a whole lot more like the Cold War to me. We are fighting an ideological enemy who only really cares about territorial gains insofar as they deprive the enemy of further support. And like the Cold War, flare-ups are most likely to be found on other than the home soil of either side (i.e. Afghanistan and Iraq, rather than USA and Saudi Arabia). This kind of war is not fought like World War II - with a complete military mobilization of the populace - because success is as much defined by economic strength and the appearance of normalcy as anything else. Diverting 1/3 of the economy to the military wing of the conflict would be like diverting all of the personnel in the FBI to field work. It'd get a lot of criminals busted, but none of them convicted. We are better off learning from the lessons of the Cold War:

1. Peace Thru Strength: Mutually assured destruction actually did work in the Cold War. The Cuban missile crisis was resolved without significant bloodshed, because both sides knew the horror of nuclear action. If the terrorists know pushing us too far could result in a nuke in Tehran or Tora Bora, they will likely keep their battles off of our soil. They will fight and they will kill, but they will do so from safety.


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2. Free Press Is Essential: While both the Right and Left may complain about an unrestrained press's excesses, it is absolutely essential to the dissemination of ideas and the presentation of truth. While we lost the Vietnam War, we won the battle of ideas with Communism because we were beaming our messages across borders by radio and the Soviet press could not hide every American advantage. Without a free press even in such hard places as Iraq - which includes such opposition press as Al-Jazeera and Al-Aribia - we can not win.



3. Victory of Ideas Is Demonstrated, Not Enforced from Without: The Soviet Union fell because (a) their economy could not keep up with ours, and (b) their people knew that things were better in the West. The Soviet Union spent millions indoctrinating children from their first breath into the ideals of Communism and the Motherland. Their program of education is certainly superior to that taught in the Madrassahs of Afghanistan or Saudi Arabia, and yet ultimately it failed to convince because every contact with the West showed the superiority of outcome. The terrorist philosophy is a cancerous one which kills societies. Just see the Palestinian territories for evidence of this. We don't need to go to war with every Islamic or Arab nation to prove our superiority. Just put the information out there, and let the people decide which society they'd rather have.



4. Proxy Wars Are Not Evil: The domino theory has been much maligned as leading us into the "quagmire" of Vietnam. But by fighting our violent wars in places far from home, we allowed the home front to remain strong while letting off the pressure of political anger that naturally built up over time. Better a hundred small wars over time, than one nuclear/biological/chemical war that wipes out millions. Let the enemy waste their resources fighting battles for patches of desert, while we keep the economy and our freedoms strong here.

I am sure there are other important lessons from the Cold War, but those are probably the most critical ones for the moment. Let's remember that the Cold War was still a real war, and our victory there no less sweet for it having come without any declared war between the U.S. and the S.U. Let's use these lessons on Cold War II, and come to a similar victory.

New Orleans Facing Destruction

Several sources are reporting that unless Hurricane Ivan moves east, New Orleans could be destroyed. I visited the city with a friend two years ago and we spoke with several people who talked about the worry of even a weak storm damaging the coastline. Every year, the city loses land as it is. Now, it looks like Ivan could bring an absolutely apocalyptic scene to New Orleans if it doesn't veer to the east soon.



New Orleans is absolutely one of the most beautiful cities I've seen and we can only hope and pray that everyone in the path of the storm is able to get out and that the city survives.

Under Inspection: Can Russian Democracy Ever Work?

It's unfortunate what happened in the Russian school. But it's even more unfortunate what has been happening since the terrorists attack. Nomad posted about Russian freedoms previously and I want to echo those feelings. Especially now that Putin is cracking down on Democratic opposition even more.



However, it's not a surprise for anyone who's seen how Russia works. During my time there, I was shocked to find out how secretive and aggressive the government was. For example, Russian non-Moscovites must bring their passport to have free access to the city and are still often followed around by police. One of our interpreters had told of being harassed several times by security because she was clearly of a Russian-Mongoloid descent. The level of government suspicion and discrimination against it's own people has never truly died down after the fall of Communism. The situation is clearly better than it was under the Communist leaders, but let's not forget that Putin is former KGB and has openly called for a curtailing of certain freedoms.



For this, he can't be condemned in a blanket way. The situation in Russia has been hard for many people. American style democracy was not what Russia needed but it's what they got anyway. And they've paid the price with high corruption, lawlessness, and violence. There was a high profile kidnapping on the first day we arrived in St. Petersburg. The mob had taken and killed one of the city's leading reformist politicians as a warning against others of a like mind. Neo-Russians have sold their own country out by investing against their fledgling democracy and left millions without the ability to support themselves. These are all serious problems that Putin inherited largely because of Yeltzin's drunken and squandered last couple of years in office.



So, I feel for the guy. He inherited a real mess and he's not used to the new Russia that came out of the blue, so to speak. But that doesn't change the fact that he must understand that to ride over freedom with tanks is to give the terrorists in this age just what they want.

On RatherGate or MemoGate or FontGate or Whatever

For several days now, there has been a virtual hailstorm of controversy regarding some documents released by CBS News which were allegedly from 1LT George W. Bush's commanding officer in the National Guard. It is both alleged that (1) the memos "prove" 1LT Bush disobeyed a direct order to get a physical, and (2) that the documents are in fact forgeries created by the DNC in an attempt to take attention off of Kerry's Vietnam controveries. For days now, we have been hearing about the minutiae of Selectric typewriters, font irregularities, and proportional spacing. By now, the debate of experts over superscripts versus line spacing is almost making us notalgic for discussions of hanging chads.



Let me say again what I said the day this story broke: no matter the truth of the documents, they have NOTHING to do with the presidential race. Or shouldn't. If the documents are true (which looks increasingly doubtful) then 1LT Bush is at worst guilty of something he has already confessed to: not taking a physical required for flight readiness, because he was not taking part in flight duties. Some are charging this is a court-martialable case of disobeying a direct order. Please. I have many friends in the military who tell me stories about their experiences. Common sense survives army discipline, most of the time. And there are plenty of experiences that Mr. Bush admits to in that time period far more serious than missing a physical. (The DUI charge revealed shortly before the 2000 election comes to mind.) It was all prior to his conversion experience that made him the man he is today. But the Left is hanging onto this as their smoking gun. They somehow think this shows President Bush's inability to command, and his lack of character. While the Right is happy to debate serif versus sans serif for hours, because they know as long as the debate is over the authenticity of the documents, it is robbing Mr. Kerry of time to actually put out a message.



Let us be clear: the best-case scenario for the Left here is that (1) the documents are proved genuine, and (2) the president has already admitted everything in them. This moves the debate back onto who did what, when, and who disobeyed orders in the Vietnam era. It does not take a rocket scientist to see that this logically returns discussion to John Kerry's alleged sojourn in Cambodia - against explicit orders on the record, if he was there. It logically reraises the question of John Kerry's medals, and the charge that at least one was from shooting a civilian in the back. And it returns attention John Kerry's own words as an anti-war protester where he admitted to "war atrocities" that he himself committed.



If you are an undecided voter who has the choice between voting for a man who disobeyed orders and skipped "turn-your-head-and-cough" (Bush) and a man who disobeyed orders in a war zone, committed murder, and admitted committing atrocities (Kerry), who would you vote for? I think the best-case scenario for the DNC in this match-up is the voter staying home or voting for Nader. But it is more likely, they would go ahead and vote for Bush.

Explaining Rathergate

The events are happening too quickly to keep up with and the story just gets more and more juicy. I want our readers to be able to keep up but frankly don't feel like posting every time something new happens.



Thankfully, there's a site that does have the energy and inclination to do so. I give you Rather Biased. Now you can keep up with up-to-the-minute updates concerning the entire memo fiasco.

The Era of Big Government Has Returned

It's truly ironic that it took a liberal Democrat to balance the budget and proclaim the "end of big government." Of course, the Republican Congress deserves no small amount of credit for achievement. But now we have an otherwise conservative Republican with a Republican Congress and we're seeing spiraling spending growing out of control and rates never before seen. I have been willing to blame much of this on the WOT and especially the increased spending we've had to deal with because of 9/11.



But things are now just getting out of hand and it seems that there is no end in sight. The President's plan as outlined during the convention speech will cost an estimated three trillion dollars just on domestic issues. That is without the price of the WOT included. Iraq will still cost much more and any future wars will continue to increase our spending exponentially.



Sadly, I fear that this will convince many voters that Republicans cannot be trusted with so much power. Right now, they maintain the majority in virtually every area of politics. But I can't see how that can continue (nor that it should continue.) Apparently, the Republicans need the Democrats as much as the reverse is true. I don't think that this will be lost on voters either.

Treo 650 Arrives at PamOne?

According to The Register, PalmOne has recieved large quantities of the Treo 650, the successor to the highly successful Treo 600 SmartPhone. Allegedly, the new model will have a high-res screen, a built-in 2.3 megapixel camera, and bluetooth connectivity. And of course a faster processor. If this thing comes out in October a planned, is not prohibitively expensive, and has a decent battery life, I will be hard-pressed to resist upgrading my current Kyocera 7135. Then again, Treo still has not figured out how to make a decent flip-phone like Kyocera has.

Springfield Has Been Mapped!

Ever been watching the Simpsons and felt completely lost? Well, me either. But now some students have goine ahead and created a complete Map of Springfield! The map includes as many details as possible, and shows that that its creators are almost as obsessed with the Simpsons as my brother, CRChair. Worth a read and perhaps more, if you need a few chuckles.

Genocide Debate Is Finally Up!

What's that sound you hear? The sound of angel's wings buzzing? No, it's the sound of Nomad and myself sighing after all the work to get the debate on genocide finally posted. It's taken a lot longer (and a lot more work) then we expected because of html to Blogger problems. But it's done. Please visit the Faith & Politics page and see it. And leave us some comments while you're there! We want to hear from you all too.

More on the Lunatic Left

I've already posted once about how stupid the the left in this country is becoming, so why not another just to reflect how truly hopeless they are? Here's a post from DU and some of the more "enlightened" replies.

Since tomorrow is the anniversary of the "excuse" the cowboy uses to attack anybody he wants to. I'm bracing myself for the ongoing images of people in small red state towns exploiting the victims of 9/11.



CNN is already showing people in small town Texas CRYING over New York City's loses. Well, you know what. You never liked New Yorkers. You hated New Yorkers remember. If you really cared about the victims of 9/11 you would vote for John Kerry because that's the only thing they want you to do. But NO! Instead you brought the Bush bastard's convention to ground Zero and thought NYC would be glad to see you.

Instead of getting flowers and candy you got protesters, a half a million of them that said. GO HOME. Do you remember the Evita song...

DON'T CRY FOR ME DIRTSVILLE TEXAS..........



Let's get this straight, Dirtsville, IT DIDN'T HAPPEN TO YOU and it never will because no self respecting terra-rist would ever attack something so unimportant. It would be like the USA attacking Goatsgrave Yemen. It's never going to happen.

The bottom line is, you don't care about NYC or the pain, all you care about is getting Boosh re-elected and fighting a Holy ******* contest with the darkie Muslims. All in the name of Jesus which you're sure is coming back the day after tomorrow.



Nobody needs this ****, especially the people of NYC who still watch airplanes when they fly overhead. The people in big cities are in more danger than ever thanks to the cowboy's invasion of Iraq. But that's something the good people of Dirtsville don't have to worry about.



So take your flags, your prayers, your rodeos and your country music and stick it. You're waging war because you want too, because you like it and you're not fooling anybody. You're only happy when you have an enemy, if it wasn't 9/11 it would be something else. Like "libruls". At least have the decency to admit that.

Put on your public grieving shows tomorrow because you already have them planned but spare us the DRAMA next year. It didn't happen to you. Get over it.

That's the post, truly inspiring isn't it? I especially like how people who don't live in the cities are from "Dirtsville" and are all "faking" their tears. This reflects one of the biggest short comings on the liberals though. They believe that if you disagree with someone, then you simply have to hate them. And of course, if you hate them then you should want to see them suffer. This is how liberals think. Contrast this to the average human being who thinks, "Gee, I really dislike stuck-up, arrogant people who think they're better than me. But I really don't think they deserve to be hurt, I should show my support for my fellow citizens after what has been done to them by evil people. I can put aside the insults and the arrogance to offer my support to them." But liberals don't think like that, they live in some graceless void. Here's some of the replies that this poster recieved.

Here here.



I'm from Oklahoma and places like that are full of people who are causing most of the problems in the world. There are some very good people in those places but they generally have little political power.





Do you live in NYC. then you should know how "safe" invading Iraq made you. If they would give you their blood, would they give you their vote? Ask them to vote for Kerry and see what they say. I'm living in Dirtsville Ohio and all they care about is Boosh.





Here Here!!! As an East Coaster who is only an hour from NYC...I thank you for this rant. Granted that good people do exist in Middle America, there are many more who want to use our National Tradgedy to hurt the world and to show their own "David Duke" Bigotry. They can take their UNAMERICAN "Ku Klux Kountry Hate Music" and shove it! All we here from the the middle of the country is how bad the coasts are. If we are so bad and "immoral" than why do you care what happens to us?





Thank You, Thank You, Thank You! It pisses me off to no end when I see someone (usually from *******, Texas or someplace else in the Bible Belt) go into hysterics over 9/11 when they have no ******* idea what it's been like for those of us who live here, saw it go down first hand, ran from the debris, lost friends, lost jobs, and lived in fear ever since that the other shoe is about to drop at any time. New York used to be a magical place to me before that day, but something happened after that event. The innocent mythology of the city was gone forever. If you live here, it's palpable. The RNC convention was a slap in the face to any self respecting New Yorker, and I am sorry, but unless you lived here at that time you have NO CLUE. I can at least understand how others in large American cities feel the same sense of doom or at least feel threatened, they are vulnerable too. The rest of this country is so quick to dismiss us, condemn us, hate us and then dares to use OUR tragedy to justify THEIR hateful politics. From the way it looks to me, we are not ONE nation and I for one am tired of having my life and my city governed by the fear of others.





NY is a BLUE state with a bunch of liberals and Jews. I'll bet they're REAL sad.(again, putting on my flame suit here)





Hear Hear!!! I'm out here on the left coast and I've long wondered why all these smalltown rednecks are so quick to get teared up about 9-11 but insult people from the big cities every day. Remember the anti-Howard Dean commercial that made fun of everyone who drinks latte and drives a volvo? They hate New York. They're a bunch of phonies. The same as their patriotism.





Exactly what I've been saying for three years!!! Thanks for putting it so finely. Let me add: When and if you do find yourself on vacation here, please do NOT ask me for directions to the 9/11 site. And do NOT let me see you standing in front of our pit of sorrows like it is the goddamn Grand Canyon or the Statue of Liberty, taking pictures and buying cheesy photo "remember 9/11" books or left-over twin tower keychains. We don't gawk at your Columbines or your Wacos or your Oklahoma Cities and buy tchotchkes and t-shirts. We overwhelmingly rejected the Iraq War and we seethed with fury when you came and ********** our city with your convention.

I could go on a a lot longer but you get the point. And to be fair, there were a few posters who actually dared to dissent. I guess John Edwards is right after all, there are two Americas. One with these sad, hateful people, and another where people actually believe that love and respect make a difference.

The Problem (One of Many) With the Left

If you need any further proof just how twisted and useless the far left has become in the country, then you need only read Eric Alterman on a regular basis. His columns are always full of the most repulsive lunatic left garbage around. But he shows today just how little worth his writing is. In his remembrance of 9/11, Alterman goes into how he was willing to trust the President for a time. But of course, the President messed it up, destroyed the good will, etc etc. We've all heard the garbage a million times. But anyway, there's a line that reflects Alterman's true problem,

I praised President Bush's initial address to the nation and ignored his childish "good vs. evil" and "for us or against us" posturing.

See that? It's childish to believe that good and evil are fighting each other here. It's childish to say that terrorists who took 3000 innocent lives are evil. They've not really evil in Alterman's eyes, as much as misguided perhaps. Maybe the terrorists just need a hug? Of course, to give him credit, with Alterman's open disdain for religious people, he's probably convinced that there is no good and evil. And if that's the case, then what more can we expect from such a fool blinded by human pride? There's no better display as to why the left has become totally useless in this country.

Star Wars in DVD Spawned by 350+ G5s!

USA Today is reporting that the company that cleaned up the film stock for the original Star Wars trilogy (well the "original" special edition) used over 350 PowerMac G5s for their process. They have actually converted the whole film into high-definition video which waiting in their vaults to be used eventually to produce HD version of the films to be rereleased again as HD-DVD or as SuperBit DVDs.



I guess this means I will have to buy the original films at least twice more. Oh, well. I already have 4 versions (2 VHS, 1 VCD, 1 bootleg DVD) so what is a couple more?

Mushroom Cloud Seen Over North Korea

Yahoo! News is reporting that a mushroom cloud has been seen over North Korea, near a ballistic missile base. While the source is not necesarily nuclear, it occurred on the anniversary of the founding of the tiny communist country and may be Kim Jong Il's way of thumbing his nose at the world. Then again, other scientists note that above-ground nuclear testing is highly dangerous in such a tiny country - fallout may be blown back onto a village or city - so this mean be a sign of a nuclear accident. Whatever is the cause, it left a crater large enough to be seen from space.



Does it make anyone else nervous that this happened on the anniversary of 9/11?

H2G2 Is Coming to BBC Radio!!!

DON'T PANIC!!! Uh, I mean, the BBC has up an audio trailer for the new radio programme of the Hitchhiker's Guide of the Galaxy. This is very cool, and sounds hilarious. It includes a lot of the original actors and the new actors are very funny as well. I am really looking forward to this thing... if it ever comes to America, that is. Oh, wait! I have XM Radio which includes a BBC channel! Boo-hah-hah-hah! (Wait is that channel 42?)

Is Science Fiction Dying? Of Course Not!

The Globe and Mail has up a ridiculous article up which postulates that Science Fiction is dying? Why, you ask. Well, they cite as evidence the drop in the number of books sold each year (ignoring the fact that all books are seeing a reduction in sales). They cite the fact that most writers are no longer proposing technological advances for the next 10, 20, or 50 years and are looking farther ahead to 1000s of years in the future. Of course, from its start, science fiction's near-future writers have always been at that small intersection of good writers who happen to be educated enough to predict near-future technology (i.e. actual scientists who write).



The reality is that the current trend is not a sign of the weakness of science fiction, but the signs of its maturity. As sci fi is used to examine more and more of our universe, it gets harder and harder to separate from other genres like fantasy, historical fiction, etc. And if you are thinking that science fiction has less and less interest for the general public, let me ask you this: how many sci fi films did you see in the last year? And was it more than in past years? I thought so!

A Star Wars TV Series???

TheForce.Net is reporting that LucasFilm has confirmed a Star Wars TV series is in the works to follow the release of Star Wars Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith (or as it is known by George Lucas "Can I Please Work on Something Else Now?!") No details yet on what it is about, what era is takes place in, or what actors might be considered. Frankly, after watching the old Christmas Special again recently, this makes me very worried. I imagine it just makes LucasFilm very, very rich.

New "Team America" Trailer. Sigh.

Ward owes me BIG TIME for this. While I am a bit Muppet fan, this marionette-based political-thriller-comedy just looks silly to me. Maybe I am just getting old, or maybe I find it easier to take a frog-pig romance seriously than the South Park guys. Either way the new Team America trailer is now available for your viewing... uh... tolerance.

Muslims Apologize for 9/11

Here in the anniversary of 9/11, a moderate muslim group has published an editorial apologizing for the terrorist attacks including those on the Twin Towers, those in Spain, those in Russia, and even those in Israel. Is this a real, heart-felt move by the non-radicals, or just a public relations move to save face?

As to apologizing, we will no longer wait for our religious leaders and “intellectuals” to do the right thing. Instead, we will start by apologizing for 9-11. We are so sorry that 3000 people were murdered in our name. We will never forget the sight of people jumping from two of the highest buildings in the world hoping against hope that if they moved their arms fast enough that they may fly and survive a certain death from burning...We are so sorry for the murder of more than three hundred school children and adults in Russia. We are so sorry for the murder of train passengers in Spain....We are so sorry for not rising up against the dictators who have ruled the Muslim world for decades. We are so sorry for allowing corruption to spread so fast and so deep in the Muslim world that many of our youth lost hope.

We are so sorry for allowing our religious leaders to relegate women to the status of forth class citizens at best and sub-humans at worse.

We Christians (or judeo-christian heritage, if you want to get generic about American culture) are taught to accept apologies, and turn the other cheek. I hope sincerely that this fits the true definition of repentance: not just being sorry for doing wrong, but also turning from that wrong and never doing it again.



Maybe there is hope for change in the Islamic world.

Third Parties Make the Ballot... But Remain Weird

There is a new site up called Ballot Access News which seeks to aid third-party candidates by noting how many states they are on the ballot and chonicling their efforts to reach the voters in each and every state. It is interesting to see that the Libertarian Party candidate is doing better than Ralph Nader, but then I don't suppose Mr. Badnarik has the entire Democratic party gunning for him.



This also gives me a chance to note that one of the splinter-conservative parties, the Prohibition Party (yes, there still is one), has split again. Apparently, the guy they have been running since 1984 is running again at age 71, and the party faithful are more and more convinced he is running just so he can sell more political buttons for his businsess. The new "Concerns of People" party has the same great platform, but 40% fewer calories!

DVD Review: JERSEY GIRL

Rating: PG-13



There are some movie and some directors that you are glad to share with all of your friends and family. Then there are others that you keep to yourself as "guilty pleasures." Kevin Smith has definitely been in that vein for me, since I first saw his film CLERKS during college. The writing was superlative, the characters sharp, and humor was amazing. The problem was the choice of topics were inappropriate for family situations. Anyone here who has read my posts for a while knows that I am conservative on moral issues, and Smith's penchant for jokes about bodily processes and sexual relations would be beyond the pale from anyone else. But somehow, he makes it past my defenses and makes me laugh every time. So while I have been a fan for a while, I have been unable to admit this fact openly to my mother or friends generally.



But finally, Kevin Smith has made a film that proves he is more than just off-color jokes. JERSEY GIRL is the story of Ollie Trinke, a press agent who is left a single father after his wife suddenly dies after giving birth to their first (and only) child. The stress of single fatherhood quickly takes its toll on Ollie's high-pressure job, and he winds up publicly insulting his most important client - Will Smith. He is fired and exiled from the hallowed streets of NYC to the humble streets of New Jersey to raise his daughter with his elderly father, and dream of a return to his former life. JERSEY GIRL is a sweet story about fatherhood, with both its sweet side and the hard responsibilities that it brings. It reflects on Smith's own (relatively) recent fatherhood, and his musings about what it would mean to be alone with a new life totally dependent upon him. The fact that his own father died shortly after the completion of the movie adds an extra note of sweetness to t!

he whole production.



And the best part (for me, not for the myriad of foul-mouthed Smith fans) is that this film is relatively clean. The language is not spotless, but it is kept to a PG-13 level, and the jokes are kept at the average level of a romantic comedy. The wit is less biting, but then it is also less painful at times. And again, this is the first Kevin Smith film that I could take my mother to without fear. This film is highly recommended.

Warning: Hugs, The New un-PC

Are hugs bad now? Apparently, some think so. This is stupid. Cavuto's got it right, our society has just completely messed up the entire concept of emotionality and made it akward to be sincere in simple ways.

"Ghost" Detainees?

ABC News is reporting that the CIA has been hiding up to 100 Guantanamo detainees from the Red Cross and other humanitarian agencies. These prisoners were apparently held outside the normal registration process, and the CIA has refused to remedy the situation until high-ranking generals started complaining to Congress about it. Now there are sure to be hearings on the issue.



Why is this serious? One, it means that the Red Cross was unable to check out the conditions for the prisoners to ensure no Abu Ghraib-style torture was going on. Two, it means that the CIA has apparently violated an international treaty that every other branch of our armed forces and intelligence services comply with.



I am sure there is a "good reason" for this. Probably they are prisoners that we don't want Al-Qaeda to know that we have, so the terrorists keep trying to communicate with them. (I can see it now. An anonymous IM to TERRORIST_NUTCASE from OSAMA_FREAK: "Hey, haven't seen you in a while! Come on over and we'll put on some tunes, drink some beers, and plan the next attack on America!" Response from TERRORIST_NUTCASE (now a CIA plant) "My apologies, but I am detained at the moment by unavoidable circumstance. Why don't you just tell me about your plans. Best if you can do so with full documentation that will stand up before Congressional review. I am NOT a CIA plant. Really.")

More News on the President's Vietnam Era Record

This is BREAKING NEWS curtesty of Rightwingnews.com They have found damaging papers dealing with the President's time in the National Guard. This is sure to really, truly, seriously, in a deep way, impact the President's standing. It's some nasty stuff. Click on the image to bring up a slightly bigger and clearer version.

Football Time!

I know Nomad will just be SO THRILLED to see me posting about football, but oh well. It's my blog after all ;-)



I can only hope that maybe my team will get their act together this year. They've been sitting on so much potential if Cowher can just harness it. There's a good piece up on his new attitude. And they've also got Duce to run the ball as well as having Bettis back on board. I like Maddox, I really do. But Pittsburgh is a running team and that has to be the primary attack. Once they've pounded the defense with the run, then he can get the time he needs to throw.

Kitty Kelly and the New Lies of the Lunatic Left

I wonder if the Democrats will come out and denounce her new book now that Sharon Bush has said that Kelly lied about quoting her. Here's part of the story about the statement Bush released,

Sharon Bush, the president's former sister-in-law, insists that she never told gossip biographer Kitty Kelley that President Bush used cocaine at Camp David while his father was president. She says, "Kitty Kelley raised drug use at Camp David, [and] I responded by saying something along the lines of, 'Who would say such a thing?' ... Although there have been tensions between me and various members of the Bush family, I cannot allow this falsehood to go unchallenged."



Kelley quotes Sharon Bush as making the charge in a new book. The book's publisher says it, "stands fully behind the accuracy" of Kelley's reporting.

Of course, the Democrats don't like what the Swift Boat Vets say and so they're threatening to sue to have their book removed. But it's okay to make wild, unsubstantiated claims about the President. Wow, it's amazing that I ever even considered voting for John Kerry in the darkest deepest recesses of my mind. I'm in shock now and so glad that I got over it before too much time had passed. I would just be embarrassed if I had to say that I had ever supported him.

Are We Still Fighting the Vietnam War?

I'd like to second Nomad's earlier post about this new "revelation" that President Bush's records say this or that. I am SO tired and fed up of hearing about Vietnam. Could we please get on with our country and get past this war? I lay the blame for the whole mess on Kerry. He insisted on making it a center piece of his campiagn and wouldn't stop talking about his service. Then he got the vets all mad and now the lunatic left has decided to try to nail Bush for his record.



This is distracting us from the many other issues that need to be brought up and debated in our country. Enough with Vietnam already!

Reviews of the Star Wars DVDs!

The first reviews of the Star Wars DVDs due out September 21 are available for read. Sounds like all good news so far. Good transfer, great audio, cool commentaries (available as audio or subtitles). The only weird part is apparently Lucas has monkeyed with the DVDs a little more, including the much ballyhoo'd Han-and-Greedo scene. It's his right, I believe. But it does still seem weird. Then again, I may be biased since I can watch the original trilogy on VHS in two separate formats (before THX and THX version) anytime I wish!

New Bush National Guard Docs Are Fake? Who Cares?!

After the recent release of the "personal papers" of one of Lt. George W. Bush's commanding officers from his time on duty, now some people are calling attention to the details of formatting and typeface of the documents. They claim that the font was not in use at any time on typewriters, and that only a modern word processor like Microsoft Word could create this kind of document. Charges are being flung both ways and people are getting quite worked up.



Course, they wouldn't be if they checked out the content of the papers. They basically say only stuff we already know. Bush was flying, skipped a physical, and was granted leave to work on a political campaign. The commanding officer was not thrilled with this state of affairs, but what commanding officer would be?! I'll bet John Kerry's C.O. wasn't thrilled when he went home after 4 months, since he was considered to be an effective officer.



Now that that is dealt with, can we actually talk about issues? Or at least one issue: terrorism? Does John Kerry actually have a position on that one?

Politics of the Electoral College

One Republican member of the Electoral College is threatning to vote against President Bush even if he wins the state. Now look, I hardly think we all need to be the Borg here and simply espouse party lines. But if you're sole job is to go and cast a vote that represents the wishes of your state and you fail to do so, then you are in violation of your obligations and should be removed from your position. There's simply no room for petty political displays at a time like this. If you dislike the Presient so much, the step down and let someone who will do their duty take your place.

Heads I Win, Tails You Lose?

George Will has up a new column in the Washington Post today where he strongly questions John Kerry's strategy of banking his whole campaign on the War in Iraq, and the historical War in Vietnam. He notes that Kerry has succeeded in doing exactly what the Bush campaign might have desired - he has made the election a one-issue debate.

Almost any good news, about the economy or war, will help Bush. And the most likely bad news, about the war, is apt to hurt Kerry in two ways. It will make his preferred domestic policy issues seem minor and will reinforce Bush's theme that he is the candidate most focused on and muscular about the world's multiplying dangers.

While George Will is no friend to Kerry ideologically, he does outline the thing about the senators campaign that mystifies friends and foes alike. Why run on a vapid Vietnam record, when your only Vietnam accomplishment of note is that you actually went and served? And why stop talking about domestic issues, when Bush's main weakness is on the domestic front? Oh, well. Just cuz I don't get it, doesn't mean there ain't a strategy.

Ever Wonder Why We Fear "Preemption"?

Well, it appears that Russia wants in on the Doctrine of Preemption. After the debacle in the school, it is not surprising that Putin wants to strike back at the people who murdered the children. However, it makes you wonder. I trust Bush to only use preemption when it is absolutely required. I might even trust Kerry to be careful about it, because he knows he'll be under microscopic scrutiny from Talk Radio. But I am not sure I trust Vladamir Putin not to use it to destroy his political enemies. And moreso, I am sure I will not trust whoever succeeds Putin in Russia.



Sigh. The world is so complicated. But when I was in Physics they used to say if the world was less complicated, it's stop spinning on its axis.

What Ollie Thinks of Kerry

There's a good piece up from Oliver North that gets right to the heart of the issue. He does a good job tearing apart the cry-baby tactics of the Kerry campaign.

Iraq Soldier Deaths Pass 1000

Eagerly anticipated by terrorists and journalists alike, CNN is just one news outlet trumpetting that soldier deaths in Iraq just passed the 1K mark. Still one of the most successful operations of all time, but we don't care because 1000 was hit. Why? I am reminded of an old Dilbert cartoon about Y2K, where Dogbert successfully scared everyone about the year 200, because it is BIG and ROUND. BIG AND ROUND!!!!



Gimmee a break folks. This is no more or less significant than death 1, death 10, death 999, death 1001, or death 723. Death is death and it is horrible. But it is War's primary product. We knew that going in.

A Mini-Fisking on Krugman

I'm not sure if that's a real term or not, but it now is. I can't call it a major fisking since Gibson only goes after one of Krugman's points. But he makes the point well. Here's a section that deals with the "issue" of "mission accomplished."

As we know from the book, “American Soldier” by General Tommy Franks, the reason George Bush said major combat operations were over was Franks asked him to do so, as a signal from Franks to a long list of potential American allies. These allies had said when they heard the president say major combat operations were over, they would send troops to help America in Iraq. As Franks points out in his book, the allies stiffed us much more than anyone imagined possible.

I just recently picked up Franks' book and am looking forward to reading it. I'm sure I will make comments when I am done. But don't hold your breath, classes just started back up so it will be a while.

The Decline of Europe

When even the Guardian sees the problem, you know you're in trouble. Maybe Europe should keep its nose into it's own business and figure out why many of the countries there are falling apart.



As much fun as it might seem to poke fun of the situation, I think that a declining Europe represents many problems to the US. Not the least of these problems is weakness against Muslim terrorists and the increasing Muslim population threatening to turn some countries *cough cough...France* into radical Islamic theocracies. Even though they sometimes act like they're to good for us, the US needs Europe to be strong.

The Conscience of Radical Islam... Or Lack Thereof

Dennis Prager has up an interesting article that furthers the thoughts of this morning's post about Islamic terrorists being a "death cult." He asks why we now calmly accept the murder of children by a group invoking a name for God, as though this were somehow normal. He notes that this same kind of soulless carnage is not practiced by Christians or Jews or even the vast majority of Muslims. Yet increasingly, moderate and liberal Islamic practictioners and leaders are seeing the image of the religion that saved Western Philosophy through the Dark Ages tarnished with acts of barbarism.



What will it take for non-radical Muslims to stand up and be counted? An attack on America that murders thousands of innocents? Oops, got that. An attack on a school where hundreds of children are murdered, many shot in the back? Hey, we've got one of those, too. What about an attack on non-Christian, non-Western peoples who are no threat? Well, we have that in Sudan. Let us hope and pray it will not require a nuclear or biological attack. Because right now, it is a whole lot more likely to be a nutcase who does it, than the leaders of Iran or North Korea.

Islamic Terrorism Is a Death Cult

David Brooks of the New York Times has up an excellent piece on radical Islamists like those who killed the school children in Russia. He notes that since the Western media can not understand these monsters, they resort to euphimism and treat the perpetrators as freedom fighters or separatists or other legitamate revolutionaries. But the fact, he notes, is that these people are simply part of a death cult which worships death and killing, and really sees the acts of murder and suicide as much of an end as a means.



He makes a great point. We have seen plenty of Christian death cults - David Koresh, the Heaven's Gate people, etc. - so why do we have such a hard time seeing that radical Islam is a death cult of its own. How else do you understand the Palestinians, who had almost everything they wanted offered to them at Oslo and instead chose suicide bombings which have increasingly brought them farther and farther from their stated goals?

Murder of Children Was a Literal Act of War

One of the terrorists captured after the School Murders in Russia claims that they seized the school in an attempt to widen the Chechen War to all of Russia. Allegedly, one of the top military commanders of the Chechen rebels directly ordered the attack.

Appearing on Russian state television, the unidentified man said the attack was ordered by Chechen rebel leader Aslan Maskhadov and Chechen warlord Shamil Basayev..."They gathered us in the woods and 'The Colonel' said that we should take over a school in Beslan. That was our order," he said. "When we asked why we were doing this, what our goal was, 'The Colonel' answered us, 'Because we need to start a war across the Caucasus." He said the hostage-takers included Uzbeks, Arabs and Chechens.

This is sick. Disgusting. I am thousands of miles away from this event, but it sickens me to no end. America should offer the Russians any investigatory assistance they may need, and should consider using this as a means to get more help in the War on Terrorism. The same report notes many of the supsects are Al-Qaeda, so now we know OBL's organization will attack anyone, anywhere. Makes you wonder how long until one of the nuclear nations who is hit, hits back hard.

Kerry's Plan for Iraq Shows Weakness on Terror

John Kerry said today that he would remove troops from Iraq within the four years of his first term. While I think we'd all like to see our military out of Iraq, it's a huge mistake to put a date on the details. Right-Thinking has picked up on why this is a big mistake,

I remember reading a book by a former FBI bevahioral profiler, in which he discussed obsessive behavior, specificallly stalkers.  He described a situation where an obsessed male will call a female repeatedly and harrass her.  The profiler said that the only thing that the female can do is refuse to answer the phone, no matter how long he makes it ring.  Why?  Because even if he calls and lets it ring 500 times, if you pick the phone up, you’ve just told him that if he wants to get you on the phone all he has to do is let it ring 500 times.  You have set the rules of the game in his favor.  Well, look at what Kerry just said.  He just told the Islamofascists that if they let the phone ring for four years we’re going to leave.  He just told the enemy exactly what was necessary for them to achiueve victory—hang on for four years.  Now, compare this to Bush’s pledge to stay until the job is done.  “You can let the phone ring all you want, but we’re not going to pick it up.”

You can't give in to the kind of evil men we're dealing with here. It's exactly because they thought they knew how far to push us that we've gotten into this mess.