…and boy, are my arms tired. [ba-dum-DUM.]
I made a quick, day-trip to Dallas, and I’m compelled to make a couple of observations, and offer an idea that I think would be a win-win for all travelers. [Read more…] about I just flew in from Dallas…
Terrorism
Between Iraq and a Hard Place.
Despite our best efforts, it seems the world is a more dangerous place today, than it was yesterday. Understand, that’s no knock against President Bush and our troops. Quite the contrary, I think they’ve done an amazing job, given they’ve had to fight an unconventional war against an enemy with no uniform, not to mention fight against a mainstream media who tells only the story they want to tell (and not the whole truth), and the liberals here at home who want Bush to lose, no matter what the cost. But like an insane, global version of Whack-A-Mole, the bad guys just keep on popping up, daring us to do something about them.
Iran to USA: “Bring IT!”
Remember what I said a while back about “Playground Logic“? Today, Iran told Uncle Sam to “bring it on, baby!” They’re upset that we had the unmitigated gall and audacity to question their sincerity regarding their nuclear program. You see, Iran has more natural gas and crude oil than the world needs. They have no need of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. However, they could certainly make use of a spare nuclear weapon or two, as their leaders believe that Israel doesn’t deserve to exist, and they should be the ones to bring about its destruction. [Read more…] about Iran to USA: “Bring IT!”
The War – Here and Abroad.
Got some news this morning. My Marine Reservist son is scheduled to ship out to Camp Pendleton in April, then out to Iraq in September.
A lot of people have wondered openly if my support for President Bush and the Iraq War would change if my son was involved. I’m happy to report that if it has, it’s only made me more resolute in my support.
What the mainstream media and the left fails to grasp are several fundamental truths. First, when someone wants to kill you (Al Qaeda) you have to choose: fight or flight. They carried the fight to our shores, so there is nowhere to run (even if we were so inclined). It’s far better to fight on their turf than ours. You’ll notice that a large number of fighters captured in Iraq are from parts beyond Iraq. Therefore, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist (but evidently more braincells than Alec Baldwin posesses) to see that the terrorists have traveled to where the fight is (Iraq) to fight us.
Here’s a clue for you liberals out there. This is a good thing. [Read more…] about The War – Here and Abroad.
The (Un)importance of Being Oscar
I skipped the Oscar broadcast Sunday. I’m not alone. So did millions of other Americans. From what I hear, the ratings were off 10% from last year, which were down significantly from the year before. In fact, Uncle Oscar’s been slipping quite a bit in recent years. For the life of them, Hollywood can’t seem to figure out why.
I think I know.
I’m a red-stater. Proud of it. I’m one of the ones with which George Clooney admits to being “out-of-touch.” At one time, Hollywood proudly made movies that I was interested in seeing. Star Wars (the first one…you know…episode IV), Patton, Young Frankenstein. Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Big budget – small budget – I didn’t care. As long as it was entertaining, I didn’t care if it was a war picture, a western, a comedy, even a love story. Along the way, though, Hollywood forgot about entertaining me, and decided their mission was to indoctrinate me into their cause célèbres.
[Read more…] about The (Un)importance of Being Oscar
Playground Logic.
You know that book? The one titled “Everything I Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten”? I’m thinking of writing one on geo-political logic, called “The World is One Big School Playground.”
In WWII, the playground was Europe. Germany was the big bully kid – not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but big enough and mean enough to throw his weight around to get what he wanted. What he wanted was the lunch money – and everything else – from Poland, Czechoslovakia, France, et cetera. In his gang were Italy (not quite as smart or strong as Germany, but exhibiting the same tendencies towards bullying) and Russia (kid with a chip on his shoulder, with no parents to teach him right from wrong, who fell in with the bad crowd.) Let’s not forget Japan (brainy kid – a nerd – who’s too small to be a bully, but dreams of lording his intellect over the other kids – willing to go with the bullies so he can then become their leader after they’ve beaten the good guys). On the other side of the schoolyard, you had England (brainy kid who fights back when he gets cornered – a good guy to have on your side, as he’ll fight on the basis of principal), France (weak kid who surrenders quickly, but would LIKE to see the good guys win) and America (the school quarterback who believes in protecting the weak). The rest of the countries were like the little kids – serving as collateral damage for the fight (although you can make the argument that Switzerland was like the kid who tries to play both sides against the middle to make a buck off betting on the outcome of the fight).
Connecting the Dots.
No, this isn’t a post about the Global War on Terror. It’s a post about logic, reasoning, belief systems, and how they affect us all.
<p>Did you ever have the experience where you can almost put disperate data together in some semblence of order, but can’t quite make all the pieces fit? It’s as if you have one or two missing pieces of the puzzle, and just can’t see the entire picture. It’s like when you know there’s a word you want to use, but you can’t get it in your head – it’s on the “tip of your tongue,” but you just can’t think of it.</p> [Read more…] about Connecting the Dots.
Junk Science and the MSM.
Yesterday was one of the most historic days in recent memory. A new Supreme Court Justice took the bench and the court swung decidedly to the right. The President gave a forceful and well-reasoned State of the Union address. Civil Rights figurehead Coretta Scott King died in her sleep. Oh, and the mainstream media overlooked all that to promote their own far-left, environmentalist-wacko, junk science agenda. Don’t believe me? How about this headline from ABC News reporter Bill Blakemore: President Bush Forgets About Global Warming. The subhead’s even better: Bush Raised Eyebrows With His Reference to Oil Addiction, but He Failed to Break New Ground.
Pause with me for a nanosecond.
Sauce for the Goose.
Ignorance and stupidity are in, evidently, limitless supply, on both sides of the political spectrum. What seems to be a precious commodity, however, are accountability and perspective. Allow me to illustrate. [Read more…] about Sauce for the Goose.
Everything Old is New Again.
Most things work in cycles, like the swinging of a pendulm. Hemlines go up and hemlines go down. Pants legs go from flares to straight and back again. The country swings towards liberalism and back to conservative values. Some cycles take longer than many people observe in their lifetimes. To understand those cycles, we must study history. For instance, did you know that there have been several periods in American history where the two sides were as polarized (if not MORE polarized) as they are today? There are periods in our past where politics were even more nasty than what we see today – with more dirty tricks than Watergate, with more scandals than the Clinton era, and with more bile than a Howard Dean speech. [Read more…] about Everything Old is New Again.