Every once in a while while surfing through comments on other blogs I find a comment that is so perfect, I have to post it. I found this one while reading a blog(Beltway Confidential) at the Houston Chronicle regarding the President's speech yesterday about the war:
Would you like a soldiers Mother's point of view?
Give the Commander in Chief the authority -then criticize when he uses it.
When interrogation methods are successful - find isolated examples of bad behavior and try to shut down the operation.
When wiretapping policies show success - criticize and try to shut the policies down.
Give General Patraeus unanimous consent - then criticize his plan and personally attack him.
Write legislation that demands the White House give a report on the surge progress - then imply the White House shouldn't give the report.
Write legislation that demands the White House give the report in September - then imply it's political timing.
When the military surge shows progress - switch criticisms to the political goals.With the focus on the political goals - begin to personally attack the elected Iraqi Government.
I'm the proud Mother of Marine 2nd Lt. James T. Collins of the 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division II, Marine Expeditionary Force out of Camp Lejeune North Carolina who is currently in Iraq, and I think our service men and women are doing a damn good job considering half of our Government has been fighting against them from the beginning.
Posted by: Barbara Collins at August 23, 2007 11:02 AM
Thursday, August 23, 2007
A Commenter Gem..
Greater love hath no man...
than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. John 15:13
FORWARD OPERATING BASE HAMMER, Iraq – An Iraqi man saved the lives of four U.S. Soldiers and eight civilians when he intercepted a suicide bomber during a Concerned Citizens meeting in the town of al-Arafia Aug. 18.
The incident occurred while Soldiers from 3rd Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment, were talking with members of the al-Arafia Concerned Citizens, a volunteer community group, at a member’s house.
“I was about 12 feet away when the bomber came around the corner,” said Staff Sgt. Sean Kane, of Los Altos, Calif., acting platoon sergeant of Troop B, 3-1 Cav. “I was about to engage when he jumped in front of us and intercepted the bomber as he ran toward us. As he pushed him away, the bomb went off.”
The citizen’s actions saved the lives of four U.S. Soldiers and eight civilians.
Is Anyone Listening?
Redstate has this excellent essay. Please read the whole thing.
"In one of President Bush's positively BEST foreign policy speeches since the September 11 attacks brought us to this hell we find ourselves in now, we were reminded via clear, detailed, and somber analogy, of the gravity of our situation in the war against Radical Islam.
He provided a wealth of historical reference, gave specific meaning and context to our current situation against the backdrop of past wars America has engaged (and ultimately triumphed), and established clear parallels between what "could have been" in yesteryear, and what "might become" should we choose poorly from our list of options today.
The problem, however, is that nobody is listening anymore. No one cares. Everyone has made their respective minds up. Any future developments will be received as nothing more than new revisions of the already out-of-vogue bumper sticker. And worst of all, not for this President but those who come after, the credibility of Commander-in-Chiefs is forever lost in the muddied waters of American cynicism, and disbelief in the idea that there might be those who would see the country destroyed."
Redstate goes on to quote the President and a vital part of his speech yesterday:
"We must remember the words of the enemy. We must listen to what they say. Bin Laden has declared that "the war [in Iraq] is for you or us to win. If we win it, it means your disgrace and defeat forever." Iraq is one of several fronts in the war on terror -- but it's the central front -- it's the central front for the enemy that attacked us and wants to attack us again. And it's the central front for the United States and to withdraw without getting the job done would be devastating. (Applause.)
If we were to abandon the Iraqi people, the terrorists would be emboldened, and use their victory to gain new recruits. As we saw on September the 11th, a terrorist safe haven on the other side of the world can bring death and destruction to the streets of our own cities. Unlike in Vietnam, if we withdraw before the job is done, this enemy will follow us home. And that is why, for the security of the United States of America, we must defeat them overseas so we do not face them in the United States of America. (Applause.)"
I couldn't agree more that no one is listening. The Democrats have their anti-war talking points and nothing will sway them from it. Coming elections make it even worse for our leaders to objectively look at this conflict.
Th bottom line to me is this. In wars past we walked away, for good or bad, done. Our battles did not come back to haunt us. But make no mistake about it, if we don't do what we have to do in Iraq, the enemy will return. He will come to our shores again and he will know that we can be broken down by politics. We must listen to what he says.
The Newark Massacre
Michelle has this:
Local NY/NJ media outlets reported chilling new details about the attack by criminal aliens on young Newark students Iofemi Hightower, Doshen Harvey, Terrance Aeriel, and Natasha Aeriel. From today’s NYPost:
The thugs who shot four college students in Newark reportedly preceded their sick attack by trying to sexually assault their two female victims.
The group of six assailants - who shot two men and a woman dead and wounded another woman - failed in their attempt at a sexual attack, and then decided to kill their victims, according to 1010 WINS radio.
Six suspects have now been charged in the Aug. 4 atrocity, in which the victims were blasted execution-style.
Yesterday, a family member of one of the slain victims, Iofemi Hightower, described the level of savagery of the attack. He said the thugs used a machete to hack their victims.
“They cut my niece’s face off,” said John McClain, who is Hightower’s great-uncle, and the chaplain of the Newark Police Department. “They cut her from cheek to cheek. They left her head hanging.”
McClain said the mortician told him he had to work for three days to put his grand-niece’s face back together.
“Most people couldn’t tell, when he was done, but the family could tell,” he said.
Read the whole thing. She has more details about the gangs and contact info so you can help.
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
This. Is. Important.
As Hugh Hewitt points out in Bush's speech today:
“In Iraq, our troops are taking the fight to the extremists and radicals and murderers all throughout the country. Our troops have killed or captured an average of more than 1,500 al Qaeda terrorists and other extremists every month since January of this year. (Applause.) We're in the fight. Today our troops are carrying out a surge that is helping bring former Sunni insurgents into the fight against the extremists and radicals, into the fight against al Qaeda, into the fight against the enemy that would do us harm. They're clearing out the terrorists out of population centers, they're giving families in liberated Iraqi cities a look at a decent and hopeful life.”
Why the administration or the media doesn't make a bigger deal out this, I don't know. Good grief! That makes 12,000 al Qaeda terrorists that can no longer plan to or harm America. Just since January. The left doesn't seem to understand this. We are winning if we are killing them while keeping America safe. That's it.
Update: Meanwhile, even amidst the hope of the surge working and our defeating al Qaeda, the left continues it's pessimism while at the same time insulting our vets. (and no, it's not the KosKids either)
This is KosKids, completely ignoring the al Qaeda number. In fact, no mention of al Qaeda at all.
They Question The Timing...
..of the Wedding! That's right. Jenna Bush's wedding.
RightWing News has the post from The Huffington Post in all it's moonbat goodness. Ya know, I really don't like to use the term "moonbat," but in this case, it so fits.
"Here's to the Happy Couple -- and a 10 Point Bump
Jenna Bush and Henry Hager plan to marry. And there is already buzz of a spectacular White House wedding that will gather society, power and politics around these two cute kids.
Ordinarily, I'm a sucker for such things. I've cried when the groom kissed the bride -- and I didn't really know either of them.
But this time I have to say to Jenna and Henry: don't do it. The sixteen months to go as this administration ebbs away is not too long to wait.
The bigger the wedding, the sweeter the music of the Marine Band, the greater the contrast with what is happening to some other kids in the 110 degree hell of a far away desert country.
They can try to keep it simple. But a White House wedding is going to be big. It will be the first one since the coming of cable. It's a union of Republican royalty. It could be Philip and Di -- without the carriage ride. Or, wait, the carriage might make great TV.
The thing I find most disturbing is that there is already talk that a White House Wedding will be great politics. It could be a terrific way to hook women -- who are the angriest about the war, and one of the biggest problems for Republicans going into the election.
Women -- even the angry ones -- are going to eat this up. We can't help it. It's what we do.
The father of the bride is responsible for the loss close to 4,000 American lives, the lives of uncounted Iraqis, and many thousands of injured and maimed. He has had the big boy office in an organization that has lied, manipulated and ultimately failed at every turn. But on this day, he is the proud and loving papa walking his daughter down the aisle.
Eyes will grow moist, and approval ratings will rise.
Can I possibly be cynical enough to suggest that this is timed around the election? Could it be that the children's book Jenna Bush wrote with her mother is a bit of pre-wedding character repair for a girl who seems well-versed in the difference between shots and shooters?
The administration gives great and ongoing credence to the old saying: just when you think you're too cynical, you realize you're not cynical enough."
Yep. Moonbat. That pretty much sums it up.
Here Comes The Pro-surge Democrats.
The Washington Post has this:
"Democratic leaders in Congress had planned to use August recess to raise the heat on Republicans to break with President Bush on the Iraq war. Instead, Democrats have been forced to recalibrate their own message in the face of recent positive signs on the security front, increasingly focusing their criticisms on what those military gains have not achieved: reconciliation among Iraq's diverse political factions."
On the one hand I am grateful to those on the left (the few) who have acknowledged progress after the surge in Iraq, forcing Democratic leaders to acknowledge it as well. But on the other hand, I know that if it weren't for those few truthful souls, the Democrats would still be framing our military in failure.
From Obama:
"My assessment is that if we put an additional 30,000 of our troops into Baghdad, that's going to quell some of the violence in the short term," Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) echoed in a conference call with reporters Tuesday. "I don't think there's any doubt that as long as U.S. troops are present that they are going to be doing outstanding work."
Here's Hillary:
"We've begun to change tactics in Iraq, and in some areas, particularly in Anbar province, it's working," Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) said in a speech to the Veterans of Foreign Wars on Monday.
Both of these candidates really do understand, to an extent, how important it is to look strong militarily. But they are tied to the nutroots, who clearly don't care how well the war is going. They don't want to fight. Ever.
Expect Hillary to become more pro-surge. She feels she has this nomination wrapped up and she wants to be seen as a strong military leader to the general public.
Bush is on TV right now speaking VFW convention. Saying the speech he should have said before and repeated many times. I'll have more to say when he is done.
Related: Listen to this radio ad from MoverAmericaForward.com and join The Fight For Victory Tour.
It's on!
Fred goes after Rudy on gun control:
Now, the same activist federal judge from Brooklyn who provided Mayor Giuliani’s administration with the legal ruling it sought to sue gun makers, has done it again. Last week, he created a bizarre justification to allow New York City to sue out-of-state gun stores that sold guns that somehow ended up in criminal hands in the Big Apple.
The lawsuit has been a lesson in out-of-control government from the get-go. Mayor Bloomberg sent private investigators to make “straw” purchases – illegally buying guns for somebody else. According to the ATF, NY’s illegal “stings” interfered with ongoing investigations of real gun traffickers.
He ends with this:
While this attack by New York City on the Second Amendment reinforces the importance of appointing judges who apply the law as written, there is another important legal point. Federalism, though usually seen as a protection of the states from the federal government, actually grew out of the need to protect states from other states that interfered in free commerce beyond their borders – as New York is doing today. In this case, we need Federalism to protect states from a big bully in New York City.
Rudy shoots back (via his communications director). You have to know that Fred will have hear this "TV" thing endlessly.
"Those who live in New York in the real world - not on TV - know that Rudy Giuliani's record of making the city safe for families speaks for itself. No amount of political theater will change that."
Via Instapundit
CIA Report
So Clinton really had no plan to deal with bin Laden. Albright obviously lied to Congress.
I'm shocked.
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Just No.
I didn't realize that Gen. David Petraeus will testify before the Senate about the contents of his report on September 11.
I agree with The American Prospect (although I don't agree with anything else they write) This is just stupid. Pick another day, for God's sake. It just doesn't look right.
B-Rock
Preserve your right to get high!
Junkyardblog sent me to American Digest for these perfectly hysterical stereotypical pictures of "Hempfest" in Seattle. I use to think that legalizing pot wouldn't be so bad. But if these people are any indication of what would be the down fall of our fashion sense, not to mention hygiene, then I will have to stick with the side that wants it to stay illegal.
A New Low.
I don't care much for opinion polls, but since the left goes on and on ad nauseam regarding Bush's low poll numbers, I feel obligated to remind them that people have even a lower (much lower) opinion of the Democratically controlled Congress.
"A new Gallup poll finds that approval of Congress has sunk to a poll-history low of 18%. 76% of Americans disapprove of the job Congress is doing. The poll also reported Pres. Bush’s current approval rating remains low at only 32% -- a slight improvement from its dismal 29% mark from a few months ago."
via Political Wire
I don't know why...
....but I just love how the wives of the candidates are all in your face this year. Ms. Obama and Ms. Elizabeth being front and center. They seem to be able to say what their husbands cannot. It has an unscripted flair that I find refreshing.
I don't blame Elizabeth Edwards or Michelle Obama for their frustrations. The Hillary Machine claimed this nomination as her right from the beginning, and the MSM, not to mention the Democratic party, seems to be going right along.
I haven't understood the Democrats for a long time, but it defies good sense to not get behind a charismatic passionate candidate like Obama instead of the corrupt lying political machine that is Hillary. What is wrong with you guys?
uhhh...ok.
A local sculptor in Zististe has unveiled the 9ft bronze homage to cinema's most famour boxer.
It is said to signify the underdog battling his way through adversity."
What's a little sex solicitation between friends?
I'm sure you have heard by now about Florida Representative Bob Allen, who was arrested for solicitation after offering an undercover police officer $20 for the opportunity to perform oral sex. I know you have heard he is Republican because the MSM only mentions the party if the person accused is Republican.
Anyway, Allen is scheduled to speak to the the North Brevard Branch of the NAACP at its August general membership meeting tonight. I figure they will give him a break on the sex thing. I mean it's just sex, right?? But I'm wondering if they will be as understanding of his explanation of why he was in a public restroom known for that stuff. He says saying he was intimidated by the "stocky, black man" who he thought was going to rob him.
The meeting is open to the public too. Should be fun.
Gen. David Petraeus and the future of the Iraqi War.
Update: Welcome Instapundit readers! I just got back to blogging after taking a break. Come back and see me! I promise it's not the same old blogging you see everywhere else. I am a Compassionate Conservative. I don't allow uncivil discourse. You'll love it!
The following is from "Noted From Down Under." The blogger is Wesley Morgan who "is a sophomore at Princeton University, where he writes for The Daily Princetonian. He is blogging from Iraq, where he will spend the month on the invitation of the commander of U.S. forces there, Gen. David Petraeus."
You must read the whole thing. If you want a first hand look at perspective over there. Here is the final paragraph. Worth it's weight in gold:
"I’ve stayed away from expressing opinions in this blog (besides that Petraeus is a great commander and that the troops he commands are among the best to have served this country), mostly because I don’t think I have enough information or experience to really have strong opinions one way or the other. I’m going to close here, though, by advocating as strongly as I possibly can that one of Rep. Bird’s ideas be carried out – that Petraeus should, on national television and for a full hour, deliver an unclassified version of the detailed, operational-level Iraq brief that he gives to Congressmen and government officials straight to the public. At no time since the invasion have the American people been given the chance to hear the commanding general’s perspective in a direct, informative, operations-based way, but given how strongly they seem to want to believe in Petraeus – the polls say that Americans have tremendous respect for the general despite having tremendous misgivings about the war and the surge – I think that’s exactly what they need, want, and deserve. When Lt. Gen. Odierno brief Operation Phantom Thunder in June, he gave viewers a superb window into the corps-level offensive; the problem was that no one watched. The talkative, media-savvy Petraeus, I’m certain, would do an even better job and would, if given the chance, draw huge audiences – I’m continually stunned by both the name recognition that he has back home and the respect with which many people who oppose the surge or the war or are on the fence view him. No one, not President Bush, Secretary Gates, Gen. Pace, or the New York Times and Washington Post, can explain the situation we face in Iraq the way David Petraeus can – and the American people, not just Congress and the White House, want to hear that explanation desperately."
Posted by Wesley Morgan on Saturday, August 18, 2007
via Mudville
When Eco Nuts Go Naked.
via the ever funny Caption This!
My favorite captions from his site:
"Great... In 2000 years, archeologists will discover hundreds of granola bar wrappers, and 17 frozen species of pubic lice."
"Congratulations, martyr Achmed, here are your 72 virgins!"
"We proudly present tonight's show: Ben Gay on Ice"
(all from son of the godfather)
Elvira Arellano
Story background here:
"An illegal immigrant who took refuge in a Chicago church for a year to avoid being separated from her American-born son was deported from the United States to Mexico, where she vowed Monday to continue her campaign to change U.S. immigration laws.
Elvira Arellano, 32, became an activist and a national symbol for illegal immigrant parents as she defied her deportation order and spoke out from her sanctuary. She announced last week that she was leaving the Adalberto United Methodist Church to try to lobby U.S. lawmakers."
Anyone who read my blog from before knows that I have much sympathy for the illegal immigrants from Mexico. I still do, but I have been swayed by much of the discussion on the right on how necessary it is to secure our borders and to do something significant about illegal immigration.
Let's face it. Arellano is the Cindy Sheehan of the illegal immigration movement. Do I feel sorry for those in her plight? Yes. Do I think she and others like are only trying to have a better life? Yes. But we have laws that must be obeyed. Effort to change them is admirable. Efforts to thwart them are not.
We just winked at these laws for decades and now we are paying the price with division and resentment on both sides.
Legal Mexican immigrants need to speak out more about their journey. Obviously our citizenship path needs to be looked at. I have a neighbor from Africa. He said it took 12 years for him to obtain citizenship. That is ridiculous. But what do you expect from a bloated bureaucracy? And this is the same government that the left wants to run health care. Scary indeed.
In the end, we all want Arellano to be with her son. And she can be...in Mexico. Or she can go through the normal process, as frustrating as that may be, and become a citizen.
I have a question for you. Why do you think this has become such a hot button issue now? I mean this has been with us for decades now.
The Future is Ours.
Interesting commentary over at the WSJ. Arthur C. Brooks points out how strange it is to Europeans that our Presidential candidates invoke their religion while campaigning. But that isn't the most interesting part. This is:
"The demographic implications are even more profound for the political left, where a disproportionate number of secularists are located. Religious people who call themselves politically "conservative" or "very conservative" are having, on average, an astounding 78% more kids than secular liberals. Studies show that people are even more likely to vote like their parents than they are to worship like them. The secular left, therefore, has to rely on the tough slog of bringing people from the political and religious middle over to their views. The religious right simply has to keep having lots of babies."
Good grief! We have 78% more kids than liberals?? I mean, I knew we had more, but I didn't realize it was that much more. Which might explain why liberals are not as bothered by abortion as we are.
We know that we, as conservatives, don't have kids to further our political agenda or even to make them religious. It flows the other way. We have kids because we understand that they are what gives us joy (and sometimes pain) and makes life so much richer. We experience a love that cannot be matched or explained. In us, our children see that our love for them comes from an understanding that we know we are loved by God.
In other words...we get it.
Now, I know plenty of liberals who have kids and love them as I love mine. But it seems clear that they are not as plentiful as my side.
So, what does this mean? It's good news for us. We are having future Republicans and that is a good thing.
via townhall
Monday, August 20, 2007
McCain conference call.
McCain had a conference call with bloggers this morning, which I had to end up missing because of personal business. But NRO has the highlights. Go read what he had to say. You can disagree with him on many things, but he has this war thing exactly right.
Also via NRO, the same guy who timed the Mark Foley debacle just right, has filed a complaint with the FEC against Fred Thompson for raising more money than he actually needs to test the waters for a Presidential campaign.
Whatever.
Changing the blog name back.
I got quite a few e-mails asking me why I changed the blog name. I figured if I kept the same web address then everyone could find me, but some are complaining that with a name like "Texas Sparkle" I would seem focused on things just in Texas. So I thought about it and decided to go back to "RightwingSparkle."
The first day back I got almost 2000 hits, which I thought was pretty awesome. But why aren't you guys commenting more??? I like it when you comment. Don't just be a lurker!
Glenn Beck, The Redeemed.
I admit, I am sucker for someone who has "turned it all around." That person who has redeemed himself from the slime he was before. It's so easy to go down the wrong path. It's so easy to give into our baser instincts and desires. I think our world is proof enough of that, but it takes guts to stop, look around, and wonder what the hell happened to the good person you once were.
Everyone I have ever known like this, has become, not just a better person, but a spectacular person. But the effort almost has to be superhuman. This is why I love Glenn Beck. He has been through the self made fire and come out on the other side a wonderful human being. GQ has an article on him for it's Sept. issue if you want to read more about him.
If you don't know, Glenn Beck has a radio show. The third most popular after Rush and Hannity. He has a TV show now on CNN, which is the fasting growing cable show in cable news. And CNN has taken such grief from the left about it, I have to express admiration for them to stick with Glenn.
If you haven't heard of Beck, then you have missed what is, in my opinion, the funniest and most insightful hours of radio programing anywhere, anytime. He is much funnier than Rush and much more compassionate than Hannity. I notice on his TV show that he isn't as funny. Maybe because he can't get away with the irreverent humor he can on radio, but his show is much better than Hannity's imo.
When I started listening to Beck in the car, he would make me laugh so hard I almost had to pull off the road sometimes. But there was something else. He had a soft heart. He spoke about his mother's suicide, his life of addictions, and his divorce with such sorrow and such determination to make his life different and better. I was riveted. As Beck started toward a new life, blessings started to happen for him. A new love, more beautiful children and an astonishing career. I have never disagreed with him on an issue, even the one's where we differ from our conservative counterparts, such as the death penalty. But I have to admit that Beck's attention to the Islamic fanatics threat just plain scares me. Here is a snippet from the article:
"He is earnestly convinced that America is on the brink of another Holocaust, and the choice is clear: Confront radical Islam or repeat 1930s Europe’s sins of apathy and appeasement."
I know many of you feel the same way. And of course I think we must confront radical Islam, but on the brink of another Holocaust?? If that is true, then we sit here, in America, as ignorant as many of the Germans were during the Holocaust.
I am just not ready to accept that yet. This one time, I hope that I am right and Beck is wrong.
What makes Beck so much better than Rush or Hannity is that he has no ego. He sees himself as somehow blessed by none of his own doing. His past and his mistakes are a part of him and he never lets us forget how flawed he is. His message always seems to be that if he can overcome, then anyone can overcome. We all have the capacity for greatness and goodness.
GQ's article is titled " Is Glenn Beck The Most Annoying Man On TV?" Which is the completely wrong question. Is he the most amazing man on TV? I think so.
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Digging For Dirt.
The truly awful thing about politics is the dirt digging. Yes, both sides do it, but the far left have got it down to a fine art. If they can't find any dirt on you personally, then it's on to the family.
There is no one the left hates more than Karl Rove. Rove must have led a total scandal free life, because if he had even ran a red light, we would have heard about it. But the left did dig into his adopted father's life. I had read on left wing sites before that Rove's father, Louis Claude Rove Jr. was supposedly gay. Oh, how they delighted in that! But that wasn't juicy enough I suppose, now they are saying Rove's father liked to get piercings in...umm...unlikely places. Anything to embarass Rove, right? I mean, why is this interesting? If Pelosi's father like to wear lacy panties, would that be printed at boing boing? Somehow, I don't think so.
If you read about the book that "outed" Rove's father " "The Architect: Karl Rove and the Master Plan for Absolute Power" you would know that it must have gravely disappointed the authors that Rove had a wonderful relationship with his father and that if he was gay, Rove still visited him and spoke fondly of him and obviously loved him very much. But they even turned that into something to criticize Rove about.
In this post, the author says that although Rove treated his father well, it was hypocritical that he still fought against gay marriage. He even wonders if Rove was fighting his own homosexual impulses. It just never occurs to the left that maybe sexuality was meant to be private. That maybe some people don't think their life should be defined by sex. It never occurs to them that one can love a family member or friend who is gay, and still be against gay marriage. In their world, if you are gay or love someone who is gay, then you must adopt their leftwing political agenda. And if you don't, you are a hypocrite.
It also never occurs to them how wrong it is to "out" someone who never asked to be in the public eye. How wrong it is to dig into a private matter of an unelected citizen. Funny, isn't it? That these are the same people who scream about privacy when it comes to wiretaps on would be terrorists. Privacy rights go out the window when it comes to one's sexuality I suppose.
I've said it before, it's a wonder any decent people at all get into politics. Who needs this kind of sick personal attack? Where your family isn't even safe from the mud splattered dirt digging left.
Saturday, August 18, 2007
The Death Of A Playwright.
As many of you know, reading Vanity Fair is one of my guilty pleasures. They have fascinating human interest stories. In every issue they focus on great artists, moguls, rich murder victims, or long ago celebrities. Those are the pieces I like.
I can hardly bear to read their political articles. The editor is inflicted with BDS so severe, I'm suprised he isn't in a hospice for it. But no one investigates on a personal level better than they do.
When I was a Theatre major in college, one my favorite playwrights was Arthur Miller, considered to be one of the best playwrights of the 20th century. Best known for "Death of a Salesman" and "The Crucible." He was also married once to Marilyn Monroe, you might recall.
His work was all about the moral issues we face and how we cope with them. Human fragility. So it came as quite a surprise to the author of the article that Miller had 4 children, not the three that had always been reported. The child that wasn't even mentioned in his 1997 biography, was Daniel Miller, born in 1966 with his wife Inge Morath. The child was never mentioned because it had down syndrome and was placed in an institution and almost completely ignored by Arthur Miller his whole life.
Daniel is now 41 and according to everyone interviewed that knows him, he is a lovely happy human being that touches everyone he meets in a positive way. Toward the end of Miller's life, he visited his son, who is living an independent life. Before Miller died, (in Feb. 2005) he changed his will to include this long forgotten child.
It's interesting to note, as the article does, that none of the work Miller did after this child was born rose to the genius of his previous work. A coincidence? I don't know. Sometimes the things we wish to forget and even manage to forget, changes us nonetheless. We may put it away in our of our minds, but the landscape of life shifts a bit and we end up walking down a slightly different road.
I worked on "Death of a Salesman" my freshman year as stage manager. I know the theme is focused on how obtaining wealth and "the American Dream" of success is the wrong dream for a man. But I found a deeper meaning. I thought, that like so many men, Willy (the main character), couldn't see the blessings right in front of him. His wife and his sons. He was so focused on how people liked him and how he was defined by his job, that he failed to see the things that really did matter.
I think it's ironic, isn't it? That Miller seemed to have that same problem. (although the play was written well before Daniel's birth) He thought of Daniel as a burden that he didn't want to acknowledge. When he finally does get to know Daniel, he seems to realize that this child was as deserving as the rest of his children. Maybe he realized too, that Daniel could have been the source of so many blessings for him.
Sometimes maybe the things we see as so hard and unbearable, should be embraced. Maybe there is so much more than the difficulties we see in front of us.
Why be Mexican when you can be Indian for $50?
Good grief.
via LST
For prices starting at $50, two nonfederally recognized Indian tribes are offering membership to thousands of illegal immigrants, claiming they can achieve legal status by joining the groups.
In Nebraska, some people reported paying up to $1,200 to join the Kaweah Indian Nation, which became the target of a federal investigation after complaints about the tribe arose in at least five states.
Manuel Urbina, the tribe’s high chief, acknowleged his group has sold at least 10,000 tribal memberships to illegal immigrants for about $50 each. “We are not going against the law, we’re with the law,” he said, claiming membership papers can help illegal immigrants avoid being detained by authorities if they are asked for documents.
The federal Bureau of Indian Affairs denied the Kaweah group recognition in 1985.
because it was not a real tribe.
Friday, August 17, 2007
Photographs.
Michael Yon brings us this:
"While we sleep, enemies define us.
Please read: http://morris.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/08/15/will-the-real-hooded-man-please-stand-up/#comments"
This is a NY Times article regarding the infamous photograph of "the hooded man" at Abu Ghraib. You may know or not know that the man who originally claimed to be that prisoner, was not. The article is about that, but also about photography and perceptions.
"One human rights worker suggested that it made no difference whether Clawman was really the Hooded Man – that his testimony was no less valid.
I do not agree. Now we are talking about reality – not about photographs."
Beyond this article, there is something I always wanted to say about the photographs from Abu Ghraib. There wasn't a person I knew of that wasn't disgusted with the whole thing. The left seemed to want to paint the whole military and war with this isolated incident and the right were angry that they were doing so.
But the photograph of the hooded man, just like the photograph on my sidebar of the soldier cradling the Iraqi child, does define this war. We all live with two sides, don't we? I think most of you are like me. You live your life trying to be as good of a person as you can. But we are still sinful creatures. We still make mistakes. Some of us make awful life changing mistakes that cause such grief, not only for ourselves, but for those we love. But for most of us, most of the time, we manage to be good, do good.
The war has been like that. Our military is not perfect, they are flesh and blood. They are a part of both photographs. One being a dark insidious side and one being a compassionate heart filled caring side. And like most of us, the dark side is not a big part of who we are. It is the part we resist. But it is there.
To the NY Times I would say that it is as important to show the "reality" of the good, as it is to show the bad. Then maybe we can judge this war with more fairness. As the saying goes, a picture says a thousand words. What thousands of words have focused on the dark side? And what thousands have focused on the compassionate side? I think the former could fill a library.
Crazy Protestors.
We're not the only ones who have them:
"Demonstrators from the Heathrow Camp for Climate Action today glued themselves to the Department of Transport in the latest action to highlight their protest against the airport.
Around 11 protesters arrived at the building in Horseferry Road, central London, at around 8.15am.
Six superglued their hands to its rotating doors, police said, while another two climbed on top of them with a banner protesting against airport expansion. A further three chained themselves to the doors."
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Hey Candidates! Google it!
Wired.com has this:
"Much has been made this year of the presidential candidates' increasingly sophisticated online "conversations" with voters. But when it comes to Americans' favorite tool for navigating the web, it turns out most White House contenders are still pretty clueless, a recent round of experiments on Google's AdWords program suggests.
The experiments conclude that most of the presidential candidates are sitting on the sidelines as American voters search for timely information about political issues or campaign events.
The exceptions include Arizona Sen. John McCain and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who use Google's AdWords keyword bidding program around searches for issues and news events. On the Democratic side, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama appears to be the only one using AdWords in the same fashion, though Edwards has purchased keywords in the past."
Read the rest. I didn't even know they could buy keywords. Interesting.
You won't hear about this fight in the msm.
Hip Hop singer David Banner (aka Levell Crump) recently had this to say in an interview:
Al Sharpton: You run around towns and cities speaking words of wanting to better our community by cleaning up the airwaves. You hold rallies in front of radio stations saying turn off the music and clean the airwaves. You want to shut down local stations that are playing urban music when most of these local stations house and employ the same people in your community – the black community. When you visit any station in any city (big or small) playing urban/rap music, the staff is generally black. Now if those stations were to ever shut down – where do those employees go? Al, if you are for the people, where was your rally when the 3 college students were executed in New Jersey by black men. Where is the rally atfor those families and that neighborhood??? I don’t see you out there asking for justice yet that incident happened in a black community. If someone was to rap about “how f**** up black on black crime is and how even if you go to college you aren’t safe on the streets and nigga’s aint’ s—” – that kind of tone is offensive to you and you want to stop that! If that’s the truth, then why are you censoring it? No, you need to stop the crime before it happens so that there is no gangster song about a gangster situation.
He goes to say: (and I am completely editing this out)
“The next time you see Al Sharpton, tell him I said **** him and he can *** my ***”
The three college students were murdered by an Hispanic though. But, anyway, Al Sharpton's spokesman responds:
"From time to time we do encounter people that have sexual fantasies about Reverend Al Sharpton, but they are always women and Crump’s proposition is a first. (Oh, Really??)
However, in keeping with the National Action Network’s Decency Initiative, I am sure Rev. Sharpton would not call Crump the “N” “B” or “H” word.
And, despite Crump’s personal request, I am sure Reverend Sharpton would not call him a f*ggot. He would just pray for him."
Sly way of calling him a F*ggot without actually doing so, huh?
Via Queerty.com (yes, I read all kinds of blogs, so you don't have to)
I just have to throw this out there too from Queerty's site under the title "More 'Mos Endorse Edwards."
"John Edwards‘ presidential campaign just got another gay boost this week. Six more gay leaders pledged support to the Senator. National Stonewall Democrats’ alliteratively blessed board members Kenda Kirby and Greg Gallo join the likes of uber-producer Darren Star and former PlanetOut president Jeff Soukup in backing Edwards.
The new additions bring Edwards’ confirmed queer total to 38. Hillary Clinton’s queer committee holds 63 homos. Barack Obama, however, clobbers both Clinton and Edwards: his gay-centric MySpace page boasts 737 friends. Boy’s popular… "
Hey, I'm just reporting here.....
War news.
Instapundit has this:
"RALPH PETERS ON CONGRESS AND PETRAEUS:
Those dead and maimed Yazidis were just props: The intended audience was Congress. Al Qaeda has been badly battered. It's lost top leaders and thousands of cadres. Even more painful for the Islamists, they've lost ground among the people of Iraq, including former allies. Iraqis got a good taste of al Qaeda. Now they're spitting it out.
The foreign terrorists slaughtering the innocent recognize that their only remaining hope of pulling off a come-from-way-behind win is to convince your senator and your congressman or -woman that it's politically expedient to hand a default victory to a defeated al Qaeda."
Related:
“Smuggling mobs from Alrumailah area have been arrested after they were spotted by these surveillance plans.” Khalaf added, “Alqaida elements have lost their offensive capabilities and have become defensive. This is because Alqaida in Iraq has lost over 75% of its civilian leadership due to daily attacks and ambushes carried out by interior ministry forces backed by the Iraqi Army.”
"A sacred and magical place"
John Podhoretz at the Corner has this amusing tidbit:
"You may have heard about how the newsroom at the Seattle Times burst into applause when the news came that Karl Rove was resigning. You may also have heard that the paper's editor, David Boardman, came down harshly on his staffers, telling them to keep their politics to themselves especially with an election year coming up (because, you know, if you don't clap, then maybe readers won't be able to gather from the newspaper's own columns that it is wildly biased to the left).
Boardman has now expanded on his original memo in words likely to cause all of us who work at newspapers to burst into hysterical guffaws: "I ask you all to leave your personal politics at the front door for one simple reason: A good newsroom is a sacred and magical place in which we can and should test every assumption, challenge each other's thinking, ask the fundamental questions those in power hope we will overlook."
John hit the point perfectly. A newsroom is about as magical and sacred as an athletic locker room.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Rudy and Obama....
I meet young people all the time who just gush about Obama. It' easy to like him. He is graceful and well spoken. He has a bright ready smile. I admit that the part of me that remembers what it was like when blacks couldn't even vote, and when they could, they were intimidated not to, wants Obama to do well. Although he is wrong on every issue, it's nice to have a serious black candidate instead race baiters like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton. And this candidate actually has a chance. Although I am of the mind that the Hillary Machine will soon crush him. I would love to be wrong about that. But I digress.
People in general like Obama for purely emotional reasons. It would be "cool" to have a black President. He comes across as genuine and sincere. He never attacks personally. In fact, he seems to have a gift for a phrasing criticism in such a way that your not even sure he did criticize. But let's face it, he's green and not ready to be President.
And then we have Rudy. Strong and manly. Rudy oozed leadership during the 9-11 tragedy. He is the kind of guy who just doesn't take crap from anyone. We just love that. He is like the stern father we all yearned for. He cleaned up NYC of crime. So what if he is wrong on most issues Republicans care about? He is a leader. And we want one.
I expect this kind of emotionalism from most people. Digging into politics and issues is boring. But what I see now is people who do dig into politics and issues still liking Obama and Rudy for purely emotional reasons. I read right leaning blogs all the time now excusing Rudy for his views on immigration, gun control, and campaign finance reform. They buy his justifications even though they disagree. Why? Because they like him.
I expect that from the left side. They have always been about "feelings" and emotions. But when the heck did we get there?
Rock and Roll News
Sometimes you just have to laugh.
Have you heard of the band "Against Me!" out of Gainesville Florida? Rolling Stone says they have "one of the year’s best rock records, the Butch Vig-produced New Wave." Here is their anti-war anthem “White People for Peace.”
Rolling Stone says this is what you need to know about the lead singer:
"Not long before forming Against Me! as a solo acoustic project in 1997, singer Tom Gabel began a career as a teenage activist, joining lefty causes like Food Not Bombs and running a leftist zine called Misanthrope, for which he interviewed ex-Black Panther Bobby Seale."
It's the usual, let's make love not war. But then I notice the update at the bottom of the article:
"In Today’s News: Gabel was arrested last night in Tennessee on battery charges after allegedly slamming a fellow patron at All Saints Cafe’s head into a countertop. Witnesses say the frontman tore a story about his band that had been defaced with obscenities off of a wall, and then assaulted Jared Smith when he asked why."
Peace, dude, peace.
Now, why would I be reading Rolling Stone? Because not only am I gangsta, I rock....;-)
New Hillary Ad for Iowa.
Here's a newsflash for Hillary. You aren't running against "this President."
Dear John, I want to see other people.
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
The persecution of hip hop.
This is Chamillionare's "Evening News." The news guy is "Bob O'Wildly" and it's pretty funny although it's a real rap song. You have to read the news scroll at the bottom of the video. He covers Iraq, global warming, Bush/Oil, Katrina ect. as he whines, "Let's blame hip hop and pretend it's the problem." Stick with it to right after the middle of the video where Bob O'Wildly asks Chamillionare why he can say "nappy headed ho" and Bob can't.
Chamillionare also has a video "Hip Hop Police" where rap is declared illegal (don't I wish) and swat teams swoop in to arrest the rappers.
Now, how would I know about a rapper like Chamillionare? Well, because I'm so gangsta.
I'm Back!
The Rudy Dilemma. To Vote or Not To Vote.
Monday, August 13, 2007
From the mouths of babes (warriors actually)
This is just the dang truth:
Those who know me well, know that I am very concerned about the level of civic discourse in the United States about the war. Our leaders in Congress, and the commentators and talking heads that appear in the media, too often present choices that are at one extreme or the other, failing to realize that most Americans know that the reality is somewhere in between. Yet, our leaders continue to offer us nothing more than all in or all out as the options, and fail to appreciate that as Americans we can not only understand that the situation here in Iraq is far more complicated than those choices allow, but also that so many want a serious assessment of what is really happening here.--Assad Baghdad
This warrior's blog is one of those hidden gems I find sometimes surfing. Read through it. It's great.
via Mudville (the absolute best military source of news on the net)
Note: I know, I know. I keep saying I'm coming back soon and then I post something like I am really back now. But I really want to get to the point where I can give this blog some attention before I "spread the word" to everyone. I have a really good controversial post in my head for the first post back for good. Stay tuned.
Friday, August 10, 2007
Wait For It......
I am trying to get back to blogging, if only for the Presidential election. I am changing some things as you can see. First, I am going to do more than politics. Mix it up a bit more. I am also going to do a chat room. Whenever anything comes up big, I always want to chat with people who care about the same things I do. So when that happens I am going to open a chat room for my commenter's.
I also will not put up with trolls of any kind. I put up with too much before and I won't again. So if you are a lefty. Be nice and state your case and I might publish your comment.
I have missed the give and take of blogging. I have been busy and I will be writing about that soon. Coming back may take a few weeks, so be patient.
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
Who wants to see Hillary and George W. naked at 18??
No? Well, me neither! But some stories are just too bizarre not to take note of.
Boing Boing has this story about an article from a 1995 edition of the New York Times Magazine. One of her reader describes it:
"It's completely insane. It involves nude photos of George Bush, Sally Quinn, Miss Manners, Hillary Rodham, Bob Woodward, Brandon Tartikoff, and Meryl Streep, among thousands of others. But not just nude photos of these people. Photos of them with metal pins glued to their spines. Taken during their freshman orientation, at the direction of a eugenicist and somatacist who once wrote that "Negro intelligence comes to a standstill at about the 10th year."
As the original article points out, this eugenicist took many of these photos in the 50's and 60's and it was "a long-established custom at most Ivy League and Seven Sisters schools. George Bush, George Pataki, Brandon Tartikoff and Bob Woodward were required to do it at Yale. At Vassar, Meryl Streep; at Mount Holyoke, Wendy Wasserstein; at Wellesley, Hillary Rodham and Diane Sawyer. All of them -- whole generations of the cultural elite -- were asked to pose."
If you think that is strange, get this juicy tidbit:
"George Hersey, a respected art history professor at Yale, wrote a letter to The Times that ran under the headline "A Secret Lies Hidden in Vassar and Yale Nude 'Posture Photos.' " Sounding an ominous note, Hersey declared that the photos "had nothing to do with posture . . . that is only what we were told."
Hersey went on to say that the pictures were actually made for anthropological research: "The reigning school of the time, presided over by E. A. Hooton of Harvard and W. H. Sheldon" -- who directed an institute for physique studies at Columbia University -- "held that a person's body, measured and analyzed, could tell much about intelligence, temperament, moral worth and probable future achievement. The inspiration came from the founder of social Darwinism, Francis Galton, who proposed such a photo archive for the British population."
And then Hersey evoked the specter of the Third Reich:
"The Nazis compiled similar archives analyzing the photos for racial as well as characterological content (as did Hooton). . . . The Nazis often used American high school yearbook photographs for this purpose. . . . The American investigators planned an archive that could correlate each freshman's bodily configuration ('somatotype') and physiognomy with later life history. That the photos had no value as pornography is a tribute to their resolutely scientific nature."
A truly breathtaking missive. What Hersey seemed to be saying was that entire generations of America's ruling class had been unwitting guinea pigs in a vast eugenic experiment run by scientists with a master-race hidden agenda."
YIKES! For God's sake, let's not let the truthers get a hold of this!
Now, where are these photos? Many were burned, but the author of the NYT magazine article found the negatives at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington at the National Anthropological Archives. But the negatives aren't marked, so unless one could make prints of the thousands of negatives it would be almost impossible to find the famous ones.
Not that we would want to..
Isn't this just the most bizarre story ever?
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Iraq beats Saudi Arabia to win Asian Cup in Soccer
I think this is just awesome. Why? Because this is just the sort of thing the fanatics HATE. All Iraqi's (Sunni and Shiite) coming together to celebrate and support something so.....unimportant and western (to them). They car bombed the Iraqi celebration of a win against South Korea last week.
HotAir gets this from The NY Times:
When the Iraqi national soccer team left Malaysia for the finals here, they were delayed three hours in the Kuala Lumpur airport before collapsing into their cramped, economy-class seats.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia’s team strolled onto its stylish, private jet, accompanied by media representatives, interpreters, doctors and coaches, and was whisked here.
This has been the story for the Iraqis the entire tournament. The underfinanced team has been plagued by endless complications with travel, accommodations, food, training and equipment. “From A to Z, everything has been a problem from the very beginning.
So the underdog WINS. I just love it. The fanatics continue their violence today, but the Iraqi's celebrate anyway:
Elsewhere, the mood was festive. In Baghdad, soccer fans danced and waved Iraqi flags in the streets, while women handed out sweets. People sprayed confetti from cans over the heads of jubilant crowds in the southern city of Basra.
Heck, even Guardian journalists wept in happiness.
It's this kind of thing that will bring Iraq into the Democracy that it deserves to be. Things that bring people joy. Forget the politics. This is a WIN baby, and do they ever deserve it.
GO IRAQ!!!!!!
Note: I'm still not officially back to blogging. This is just a trial run to see how go about doing it again. Be patient. I won't know for sure until the end of August. Meanwhile I am being pretty strict on my comment moderation. I was too lenient before. So if you don't see your comment, check out my rules on the sidebar.
Friday, July 27, 2007
This is why I love our military.
From Dude, where's the beach? An Officer in Iraq: (emphasis mine)
"After reading Michael Yon's latest dispatch on the current operation to destroy Al-Qaeda in Iraq, I'm ready to grab my gear and head out. We're in the battle of our lifetime, a war that will determine the peace and prosperity for the next generation, yet Fox News and CNN are completely ignoring it. Yon's opinion about how the war has been fought up to this point is spot on, and many Officers and Enlisted in the military have been grumbling those same words. But every time we take our gloves off and jump in to fight, we're all ready and willing to do what needs to be done... no questions asked.
I believe in our fight for Iraq. I believe in my upcoming mission to help form and shape their new Air Force so they can continue defending their own country against this Iranian proxy war they're currently embroiled in. I also believe in General Petraeus' ability to do what needs to be done to strengthen Iraq, weaken Al-Qaeda, and eventually bring us home.
Every day I sit on this God-forsaken hilltop in Texas, learning Arabic and the proper way to clear a rifle and pistol, I miss my family more and more. I miss Trevi's dancing, Kalyssa's laugh, and Kaitlyn's teenage thick-headedness. Even worse, I'm about to leave them for a very long time, yet I still want to go. I'd go today if I could. I want to deploy because I want to help strengthen a nation and bring our sworn enemy to their knees. I want to do what needs to be done, no matter what Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi do to disgrace our troops and our nation. I want to do what's right and make my children proud."
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
What is going on here?
I'm making some changes to my page. I'm afraid the comments from before have been erased by doing that. I'm not coming back to blogging........yet. But when and if I do, I'm going to be doing more than politics, so I changed my blog name to Texas Sparkle, the name I used when I was blogging at the Houston Chronicle.
Hope everyone is doing well. I've put the moderation device on my comments. I hate doing that, but it's necessary with all the crazies out there.
Update: The truth is I'm really missing blogging, but it takes so much time!!! I'm trying to figure out how to do it better without it consuming me. I may test it out soon, start out slowly. I know I can't blog full time until school starts at the end of August. So I may start some posts before letting my blogfriends know and help me spread the word.
As you can see the blog address is the same.
Thanks everyone for still checking in.
Update II: Ok, here's the thing. This whole early political season is just delicious! I mean just the women alone are killing me. First in this corner is Elizabeth Edwards and in the other corner, Ann Coulter, and we have the political version of a mud fight on hardball! Elizabeth is all "I'm facing death chick, I'll say what the heck I want to." And she DOES. Next she is all over Hillary saying her man not only knows women's issues better but is more of a woman than Hillary. I mean, that is juicy stuff. Because what does Hillary do??? She goes and shows off her boobies on C-span, bascially saying , "Hey. Elizabeth! John got any of these babies??"
How can I not start blogging again????
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
Election Day Open Thread!
No, I'm not back, but The Houston Chronicle asked me to live blog election day so you can go over there to chat too.I thought my regulars (who keep yakking at each other here) would like a place to vent, predict, or cry. Whatever the case may be. Update!!!: Since you guys aren't being very nice while I am gone, I have activated the moderation device. So.....your comment might not show up for a bit since I am not checking this every day. |