Kevin L. Connors – Page 28

Another Phony Memo?

23. March 2005 · Comments Off · Categories: Politics

It seems the “Republican Talking Points” memo on Terri Schiavo is quite likely a fake:

The memo has three possible origins. The first possibility is that it was created by a low-level Republican staffer. This seems possible, but highly unlikely. Only a very dim-witted staffer would 1) copy word for word from the Traditional Values site, 2) get the Senate bill number wrong, 3) make a number of silly errors, including misspelling Mrs. Schiavo’s name as “Teri,” and 4) mix comments about political advantage into a “talking points” memo. Moreover, the Post and ABC have tried to create the impression that the memo is an official, high-level Republican strategy document. It clearly is not that.

The second possibility is that the memo was created by a lobbying group, presumably the Traditional Values Coalition, since most of the content of the memo comes word for word from their web site. But the controversial political observations–“the pro-life base will be excited,” etc.–are inappropriate for an organization like the Coalition. They sound as if they are written from the internal perspective of the Republican party (“this is a tough issue for Democrats”).

The third possibility is that the memo is a Democratic dirty trick. At the moment, that looks most likely. It is easy to picture how the document could have been constructed. A Democratic staffer wants to put in some language that will sound authentic for a Republican memo. What does he do? He steals four paragraphs from the Coalition’s web site. Then he adds the explosive political observations which are the whole point of the exercise–weirdly out of place in a “talking points” memo, but good politics for the Democrats.

Further, this could explain why the scanned version of the document is different from the one that ABC News originally obtained. The document was apparently corrected in three respects between the time it was given to ABC and when it was leaked to a left-wing web site. Who cleaned up the memo? Presumably the person or persons who created it. The site that put up the jpeg of the memo said that “a source on Capitol Hill…leaked” it to them. The source was presumably a Democratic staffer. If the document was a genuine Republican memo, would the Democrat who leaked it onto the web take the trouble to re-create it, correcting typos? No. The leaker would only correct errors if he himself was the source of the memo.

And finally: as the New York Times has reported, the only people who have actually been seen passing out the memo are Democratic aides.

The evidence we have so far is not conclusive, but it points in the direction of a dirty trick by the Democrats. The onus is certainly on Mike Allen of the Post and ABC News, if they actually have evidence that the memo is genuine, to tell us what that evidence is. In any event, however, the suggestion that this is some kind of high-level Republican strategy memo is ludicrous.

Hat Tip: InstaPundit

A Look At The Palestinian Kleptocracy

23. March 2005 · Comments Off · Categories: Israel & Palestine

This from JPost’s Caroline Glick:

Each of the PA’s 26 ministers is set to receive a $76,000 Audi, while each of the 86 “mere legislators” will suffice with cars costing the PA budget $45,000 apiece. All told, the PA will spend almost $6 million on vehicles for the Palestinians most able to buy their own luxury cars. And this allocation does not include what must necessarily follow: The politicians will approve a budget for chauffeurs and receive disbursements for gas and insurance for their PA-supplied vehicles.

As well, no doubt, as in the past, senior PA officials will also receive these perks. Since on average each Palestinian ministry has four or five directors-general and another dozen deputy directors-general plus 10 to 20 department heads, it can be safely assumed that in the next few weeks the PLC, (if it hasn’t already), will be approving the outlay of tens of millions of dollars for cars and drivers and gas for all of these PA VIPs.

The cars are just one tiny example of the waste, graft and purloining of PA funds by its politicians, militia commanders and bureaucrats, which have rendered the Palestinians one of the poorest Arab societies in the world today. It should be emphasized that this impoverishment has occurred during a decade which saw the 2.3 million Palestinians receive more international donor aid per capita than has ever been transferred to any group by the international community in the history of foreign aid.

WHEN DISCUSSING the question of international assistance to the PA, it is necessary to relate to two other aspects of PA spending. First is the fact that the billions of dollars that have been stolen from the PA’s budget over the years were taken by all the heads of the PA – from Arafat to Abbas to current Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei to Muhammad Dahlan and Jibril Rajoub. That is, it was not only Arafat and his economic adviser Muhammad Rashid who were stealing the billions. Commenting on this state of affairs in 1996, Abbas himself told a senior UN official: “You simply have to accept the fact that we are all corrupt.”

[…]

That is, all those who attack DeLay believe that “in the interests of peace” the US should support the continuation of the PA’s kleptocratic, terror-supporting tyranny over Palestinian society.

That the Israeli government has been pushing Congress to approve direct aid to the PA is made all the more ironic by the fact that the Foreign Ministry launched a strenuous protest of the EU’s announcement last week that, in spite of mountains of documentary evidence Israel provided, Brussels could not conclusively determine if some of the billions of dollars it has transferred to the PA since 1994 have been used to finance terrorism.

It is reassuring to know that in this period during which Israeli policy has become near-schizophrenic and the Bush administration appears convinced – in spite of all evidence – that Abbas is a man who can be trusted, at least one powerful man in Washington is not buying into the current peace charade.

Thank you for your courage and your wisdom, Tom DeLay.

Similar to Castro’s need for US sanctions against Cuba, as a propaganda tool to explain Cuba’s continued economic failure, the PA’s leadership need the war with Israel to continue ad infinitum, both as justification for continued western aid, and cover for their profligate graft.

Hat Tip: Roger L. Simon

Update: In a related story, Forbes lists Castro as being worth $550million.

The Texas Futile Care Act

22. March 2005 · Comments Off · Categories: General Nonsense, Politics

There seems to be a rumor running around, in connection with the Terri Schiavo affair, about something called the Texas Futile Care Act of 1999 (signed into law by then Governor George W. Bush). The rumor has it that this law allows a doctor, or care facility, to override the wishes of the guardian or family in cases such as Terri’s.

Well, here’s the actual law. And my reading of it only shows a provision for what we would all understand to be a Living Will. If someone else (Sgt. Mom, or another Texan, perhaps?) sees something there which I don’t, please comment.

Update: Mark Kleiman has a lot on this here.

Update 2: On closer inspection, it does appear that the statute allows for the attending physician to go against the wishes of the patient or guardian, WITH THE CONCURRENCE OF A MEDICAL ETHICS COMMITTEE. It is also important to note that this is not directly equivalent to Terri’s case, as it deals with patients determined to be terminal; this is not the case with Terri.

Update 2: Here’s a good article on the subject, from 1998:

Though no one knows how many hospitals have medical futility guidelines, the trend seems to have started around 1990, according to the Rev. John Paris, a professor of bioethics at Boston College. Until that time, the treatment model was fairly paternalistic. Physicians dictated treatment with little input from patients. Families sued to terminate medical care that physicians and hospitals wanted to impose against their wishes or those of the patient. Paris thinks patients right to terminate unwanted care was fairly well-established with the 1990 Supreme Court ruling in the case of Nancy Cruzan. The verdict gave her parents the right to disconnect the feeding tube sustaining their daughter, who had been in a persistent vegetative state for years. In 1991, the federal Patient Self-Determination Act was passed, which established advance directives. “Then suddenly, we find a new phenomenon: families demanding treatment and aggressive interventions that physicians believed were inappropriate,” Paris said.

I’m Happy To Report, I Was Wrong

20. March 2005 · Comments Off · Categories: That's Entertainment!

Somewhere back there, I believe it was on a comment thread, I said that Arrested Development had been canceled. This was incorrect:

Fox started the cancellation rumors by slotting the May 1 premiere of the animated sitcom “American Dad” at 7:30 p.m. Sundays, the “Arrested Development” time slot. The Hollywood trade papers reported that along with the news that Fox would buy only 18 episodes of “Arrested” this season, rather than the standard 22, and that it would end its season on April 22, before the start of May sweeps.

Fans working via the Internet responded by bombarding Fox Entertainment president Gail Berman with “save our show” e-mails. Then, in possibly a first for a network programmer, Berman shot off a “not canceled” note to fans, saying, “Thank you for your e-mail and your passionate support of ‘Arrested Development.’ While the show has finished production for its second season, contrary to the rumors you may have heard or read on the Internet, it is NOT canceled.”

Berman’s e-mail added, “We at Fox love ‘Arrested Development’ and we look forward to having the Bluth family back on Fox in the future — hopefully for many years.”

She concluded that rather than complaining, “You can help make the show a bigger success by getting as many people as possible to start watching the show.”

But that’s what’s so frustrating for “Arrested Development” fans, many of them TV critics. We’ve done everything we can to get as many people as possible to watch.

Arrested Development is the best sitcom on TV since Sports Night. Fox is to be commended for sticking with it.

I Was Rollin’ Down The Street One Day, In The Merry Merry Month Of… March…

20. March 2005 · Comments Off · Categories: General, Working In A Salt Mine...

One of the big problems with the Ford Escort/Mazda 323 is that, when it skips the cam timing belt, the valves hit the pistons, and the entire engine is wasted. It seems this has happened to me. Arrrrgh!

And just when it seemed things were on the upswing…

Too Many Choices?

19. March 2005 · Comments Off · Categories: Politics

Virginia Postrel has a couple of interesting posts about choice, and Social Security privatization, here and here. The gist of it is that, given too many choices, consumers are inclined to become overwhelmed. And surely, the number of choices in the market for investments, something which might only increase greatly with massive new injections of capital from SS privatization, is enough to be somewhat daunting to all but the most sophisticated investors.

On FNC’s Cavuto this morning, the subject came of a Democratic “plot” to kill SS privatization, because the Jackass Party is simply afraid of the electorate learning that it had power in being responsible for it’s own wealth. I reject this, just as I reject all the kooky conspiracy theories to come from the left. But I am confident many liberals believe a large portion of the population is simply to stupid to be trusted to invest wisely for the future. This Thalerist theory of Behavioral Economics serves to reinforce that viewpoint.

I see this all as a great canard. When SS privatization finally comes, I have little doubt that it will be much more than an expansion of the federal Thrift Savings Plan, albeit with a broader selection of investments. Plenty of restrictions will be put in to avoid speculative investing.

But I also reject the mantra preached by Democrats, that the current SS system is “guaranteed” benefit system. It is a massive gamble – a gamble on the whims of every government in power until the day you retire – and even afterwards.

Bush, Feminists, And American Muslims Failing Middle Eastern Women

18. March 2005 · Comments Off · Categories: Iraq, Politics, World

TNR’s Joseph Braude sees substantial room for improvement in the policies of the Bush administration, and American NGO’s in their policies towards women in the middle east, particularly Iraq:

Having invaded Afghanistan and Iraq, the United States has arguably set in motion a wave of political change that stands to weaken authoritarian rule in numerous other countries. In this respect, setbacks for women in Afghanistan and Iraq that stem from weakened central authority, physical insecurity, and a rise of Islamist political influence may be a harbinger of things to come in many places. Which is why it’s so important for American politicians and grassroots movements across the spectrum to shed their ideological baggage and formulate coherent stances on the use of soft power to advance Arab and Muslim women.

There are some encouraging signs that this process has already begun. The National Women’s Charter weighed in with a statement on women’s rights in Iraq on February 25. Other organizations with a global reach, like Women for Women International, have been active and influential on the ground in Afghanistan, Iraq, and across Africa and Asia for years. This afternoon at the Sundaram Tagore Gallery in New York City, in a move of symbolic importance, the Progressive Muslim Union will publicly break with a Muslim tradition of long standing that denies women the right to lead mixed-gender prayer services. The leader of the Friday prayer, who will also deliver the afternoon’s sermon, is Amina Wadud, an African-American Muslim theologian from Virginia Commonwealth University. A New York mosque refused to host the event, claiming it would be incompatible with Islamic law. Wadud, who has already drawn coverage on the satellite network Al Arabiya, says she has received numerous death threats in the past few weeks. At a recent lecture in Toronto, she was accused by one Muslim man of being a “CIA agent.” He apparently had no idea of the gap that often divides the U.S. government from American grassroots movements. This disconnect is intolerable at a time when American policy stands to affect millions of Muslim women–for better or for worse, and whether the U.S. manages to formulate a coherent strategy or not.

I see American, and other, government’s policies towards middle eastern women as par-for-the-course. This is quite similar to the dichotomy between our support for the One China policy, coupled with the pledge to defend Taiwan

The Bush administration needs to divorce itself from involvement in internal Iraqi politics. But, also similar to the China-Taiwan situation, I feel far more can be accomplished through western businesses and NGO’s. NOW’s total sell-out of Iraqi women, for no better reason than blind Bush-hatred, makes no sense.

Yet Another Email

18. March 2005 · Comments Off · Categories: General

Just received from our old friend, Tony Valeri:

Liberals Exposed by the Forshadowing of Things Before.
Those that attended the meeting of the Move-On.org liberal Congressional coven on 03-16-05 have been heard before. They were known as Fools, Stammerers, Deceitful Ones, Senseless Ones, as well as Unprincipled and Overhasty.
Of the many attendees that weeped, bellowed and screamed about all and every inequity they perceived was being brought down upon them by those once and again, dastardly, Republicans Senator Boxer was surely shown to be the most ill informed. But considering what State and region she represented it was no wonder.
Senator Boxer s admitting that the Senates Advise and Consent rule regarding appointments of judges required only a 51% majority vote and then adding . . . she thought a 9 more vote requirement should be added because that is what we liberals WANT; wah, wah, wah, was truly ignorant. Californians should hang their heads in SHAME for keeping this I Q challenged woman in office.
The foreshadowing spoken of previously is written and prophesied by ISAIAH in GODs Word, the BIBLE at Chapter 32: Verses 1-8, showing how GODS rule for justice will come about, at the expense of those type souls that attended the Move-On.org coven.
Of course the coven neglected to mention the morass of social failures their 70 year Liberal/Socialist agenda has created in this country, nor what to do about resolving ANY of them; therefore, LET THEM CONTINUE.
Thank GOD President Bush is aware of their failures and is willing to DO something about them. For once, a leader ISAIAH himself could be proud of and, of course, GOD himself.
Tony Valeri, Eugene, OR Tel: 541 607-6305 (tvaov@earthlink.net)

To which I replied:

Look, Tony: It’s not that what you are saying is always wrong – it’s just that, even if there is some rightness to it, it is so juvenile and elementary. It is a waste of time for people like myself to even bother with it.

If you understand, I am a real journalist. I don’t spend all my time, as I’m sure you do, just embracing opinions which reinforce my own. I make it a point to reach out and embrace diverse viewpoints. And, I spend a good deal of my time fact-checking my peers, to assure I’m not being sold a bill-of-goods. I never present as fact that which is only opinion, whether mine, or another’s.

Look, Tony: DON’T COMMUNICATE WITH ME ANY FURTHER, save for one of two instances: First, if you would like to set-up your own blog, but don’t know how, I will be happy to assist you, so long as you also forsake emailing, save to those who specifically requeest it. Second, If you wish to forsake emailing – as previously stated, and start you own blog without my assistance, where people that really want to read your crap (and I assure you, there are many) can go of there own volition, you can send me one final email, and inform me of the URL. Perhaps I will check there occasionally – but don’t bet on it.

Do you understand? The hammer is falling. Jay Tea might have been ineffectual, but he ain’t me.

I Wanna’ Be A ‘Shiner

17. March 2005 · Comments Off · Categories: General

I’m just thinking I’ve tasted Everclear and Kool-Aid (1:2, with Tropical Punch), Every Scotch – from Invigordon to Royal Salute, azul agave tequilas – both silver and gold, and all the finest brandies. I’ve even tasted hairspray – but only because my GF was into it, and I wondered what the attraction was (it actually wasn’t that bad – very like the Everclear – Kool-Aid thing).

But I don’t just want to make ‘shine – I wanna’ make something special. I want to be sitting around with my wine-making buddies (of which we have many here in California), twenty years from now. And when they say “this in my red zinfandel, 2021 vintage,” I can counter with “this be somethin’ I ‘stilled back in ’08.”

Could This Be Woody Allen’s Best Movie?

17. March 2005 · Comments Off · Categories: General, That's Entertainment!

I must confess, I am far from the typical Woody Allen fan: I’m cool to Annie Hall – lukewarm to Manhatten. But I love Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Sex, But Were Afraid To Ask, and consider Sleeper a Must See.

With that in mind, I have been looking at the summaries and reviews for Melinda and Melinda, and will watch my local listings for it. It seems like a winner.

What’s Really Happening In Iraq

17. March 2005 · Comments Off · Categories: Iraq

Glenn Reynolds posts this reader email:

I went to an AUSA dinner last night at the Ft. Hood Officers’ Club to hear a speech by MG Pete Chiarelli, CG of the 1st Cav Div. He and most of the Div. have just returned from Iraq. Very informative and, surprise, the Mainstream Media (MSM) isn’t telling the story. I was not there as a reporter, didn’t take notes but I’ll make some the points I remember that were interesting, surprising or generally stuff I had not heard before.

It was not a speech per se. He just walked and talked, showed some slides and answered questions. Very impressive guy.

1. While units of the Cav served all over Iraq, he spoke mostly of Baghdad and more specifically Sadr City, the big slum on the eastern side of the Tigris River. He pointed out that Baghdad is, in geography, is about the size of Austin. Austin has 600,000 to 700,000 people. Baghdad has 6 to7 million people.

2. The Cav lost 28 main battle tanks. He said one of the big lessons learned is that, contrary to doctrine going in, M1-A2s and Bradleys are needed, preferred and devastating in urban combat and he is going to make that point to the JCS next week while they are considering downsizing armor.

3. He showed a graph of attacks in Sadr City by month. Last Aug-Sep they were getting up to 160 attacks per week. During the last three months, the graph had flatlined at below 5 to zero per week.

4. His big point was not that they were “winning battles” to do this but that cleaning the place up, electricity, sewage, water were the key factors. He said yes they fought but after they started delivering services that the Iraqis in Sadr City had never had, the terrorist recruiting of 15 and 16 year olds came up empty.

5. The electrical “grid” is a bad, deadly joke. Said that driving down the street in a Hummv with an antenna would short out a whole block of apt. buildings. People do their own wiring and it was not uncommon for early morning patrols would find one or two people lying dead in the street, having been electrocuted trying to re-wire their own homes.

6. Said that not tending to a dead body in the Muslum culture never happens. On election day, after suicide bombers blew themselves up trying to take out polling places, voters would step up to the body lying there, spit on it, and move up in the line to vote.

7. Pointed out that we all heard from the media about the 100 Iraqis killed as they were lined up to enlist in the police and security service. What the media didn’t point out was that the next day there 300 lined up in the same place.

8. Said bin Laden and Zarqawi made a HUGE mistake when bin laden went public with naming Zarqawi the “prince” of al Quaeda in Iraq. Said that what the Iraqis saw and heard was a Saudi telling a Jordainan that his job was to kill Iraqis. HUGE mistake. It was one of the biggest factors in getting Iraqis who were on the “fence” to jump off on the side of the coalition and the new gov’t.

9. Said the MSM was making a big, and wrong, deal out of the religious sects. Said Iraqis are incredibly nationalistic. They are Iraqis first and then say they are Muslum but the Shi’a – Sunni thing is just not that big a deal to them.

10. After the election the Mayor of Baghdad told him that the people of the region (Middle East) are joyous and the governments are nervous.

11. Said that he did not lose a single tanker truck carrying oil and gas over the roads of Iraq. Think about that. All the attacks we saw on TV with IEDs hitting trucks but he didn’t lose one. Why? Army Aviation. Praised his air units and said they made the decision early on that every convoy would have helicopter air cover. Said aviators in that unit were hitting the 1,000 hour mark (sound familiar?). Said a convoy was supposed to head out but stopped at the gates of a compound on the command of an E6. He asked the SSG what the hold up was. E6 said, “Air , sir.” He wondered what was wrong with the air, not realizing what the kid was talking about. Then the AH-64s showed up and the E6 said, “That air sir.” And then moved out.

12. Said one of the biggest problems was money and regs. There was a $77 million gap between the supplemental budget and what he needed in cash on the ground to get projects started. Said he spent most of his time trying to get money. Said he didn’t do much as a “combat commander” because the the war he was fighting was a war at the squad and platoon level. Said that his NCOs were winning the war and it was a sight to behold.

13. Said that of all the money appropriated for Iraq, not a cent was earmarked for agriculture. Said that Iraq could feed itself completely and still have food for export but no one thought about it. Said the Cav started working with Texas A&M on ag projects and had special hybrid seeds sent to them through Jordan. TAM analyzed soil samples and worked out how and what to plant. Said he had an E7 from Belton, TX (just down the road from Ft. Hood) who was almost single-handedly rebuilding the ag industry in the Baghdad area.

14. Said he could hire hundreds of Iraqis daily for $7 to $10 a day to work on sewer, electric, water projects, etc. but that the contracting rules from CONUS applied so he had to have $500,000 insurance policies in place in case the workers got hurt. Not kidding. The CONUS peacetime regs slowed everything down, even if they could eventually get waivers for the regs.

There was more, lots more, but the idea is that you haven’t heard any of this from anyone, at least I hadn’t and I pay more attention than most.

Great stuff. We should be proud. Said the Cav troops said it was ALL worth it on Jan. 30 when they saw how the Iraqis handled election day. Made them very proud of their service and what they had accomplished.

There’s more. Read the whole post.

Another Email

16. March 2005 · Comments Off · Categories: General

Considering the response I received concerning nusance emailer Tony Valeri, I thought I’d first publish our correspondence since (my own in italics:

Your reactionary, poorly informed, and idiotic email fisked here: http://www.sgtstryker.com/index.php/archives/an-email/

Hey Kevin, quit with the big words, FISKED? I am just a poorly informed, idiotic e-mailer. If you want to communicate with me you will have to either bring me up to your level first, or you can come down to mine. CIAO, Tony

Here you go: http://www.samizdata.net/blog/glossary_archives/001961.html

Until you are ready to swim with the sharks, I suggest you stick to the wadding-pool of sending letters to the editor of your local newspaper.

— Kevin

Well Kevin, glad to hear you have such a high opinion of yourself. Comparing yourself to a shark hit the nail on the head, since sharks are a lower form of predator and can easily be beaton down by the gracious, but deadly, porpoise. I will be watching from my wading pool to see your elitist demise. The local editors, as well as some national editors may be more aware of me than you, since I do not sidestep communicating with anyone, on any level regarding social, economic, religious or political issues. CIAO, Tony

Well, I’ll leave it to my readers to determine who is delusional. But I know I have several highly regarded friends/acquaintances in the world of political commentary who consider me a colleague.

But the primary purpose of this post is to contrast Mr. Valeri to another fellow I receive frequent emails from, Joseph Braude. Here’s our most recent correspondence (again, I am italicized):

Greetings,

A few weeks ago I put together (manually) a list of several dozen favorite blogs, including yours, and forwarded links to stories of mine on contemporary Middle Eastern politics for your interest. A number of you were kind enough to write back with positive feedback, and I am grateful for that continued correspondence. Others were unhappy to receive an unsolicited e-mail. One individual in the latter category wrote me with the friendly advice that I should send a final note offering my apology. That is the purpose of this note. I am new to the blogosphere and did not wish to offend. Should you wish to receive further notes from me, feel free to write me with that request. Otherwise, you will not hear from me again.

Sincerely,
Joseph Braude

Personally, Joseph, I don’t consider email I have been selected to receive by an actual human being to be “spam”. Everything you have sent me has been most welcome. Please carry on.

Kevin Connors, Editor
The Daily Brief

Kevin,

Thank you very much for these encouraging words. I will go ahead and continuing sharing material with you, then. Here is a story of mine that appears in today’s TNR Online, about how Arabic-language blogging is impacting Arab politics. Hope you enjoy it.

Climate Change: Why the Internet will change Arab politics–and how it already has. http://www.tnr.com/doc.mhtml?i=w050307&s=braude030705

Sincerely,
Joseph

There are two principal differences here. The first, and most obvious, is that Joseph is quite gracious about not cramming his emails down the throat of those who don’t wish to receive them. The second, for those who don’t already know, Joseph Braude is an accomplished professional. His material is well researched and thought out. The same cannot be said about Mr. Valeri.

An Invasion Of Taiwan?

15. March 2005 · Comments Off · Categories: World

Brian J. Dunn makes a strong argument that mainland China is preparing for an inevidable invasion of Taiwan:

The only question is when China will go. I think it will be on the eve of the 2008 Peking summer Olympics. China will have the security issue to cover mobilization and movement of military units. And everybody will assume China is using the attention as a coming out party to highlight their advances and their place in the sun. I think swallowing China under the nose of US and Japanese protection will be even better to demonstrate their power. Why else go on a crash building program for naval units?

This article in the Taipei Times, however, thinks China will use the 2008 Olympics to whip up nationalism and then focus on absorbing Taiwan in the years that follow:

Hat Tip: InstaPundit

Babes For Liberty

15. March 2005 · Comments Off · Categories: World

Jonathan Wilde has a roundup of beautiful Lebanese women, protesting for freedom.

Hat Tip: Wizbang

Can’t Wait For Tonight

15. March 2005 · Comments Off · Categories: That's Entertainment!

FX has the two best dramas on non-premium commercial television, with Nip/Tuck and The Shield. With tonight’s addition of Glenn Close, as Vic Mackey’s new captain, I can only guess The Shield will be even better:

Clearly, Close hasn’t loaned her name to the series for a paycheck, either. She’s brought her big screen A-game to her first episodic starring role.

A seasoned pro, she knows how to work a scene without histrionics. A glance here, a raised eyebrow there, perhaps an occasional dirty look is generally all she needs to assert her authority. She can be more forceful when necessary without losing self-control. Amazingly, the normally insolent Vic accepts her without reservation.

It helps that at first encounter she accepts a wink-wink tale that Vic had to kill an animal because it pulled a gun on him. Rawlings further endears herself to Vic by exhibiting as little regard for the outgoing Capt. David Aceveda, who has won a seat on the city council. She also has a game plan to take advantage of forfeiture rules to let her cops seize expensive toys for their use.

‘Bit More On 24.

14. March 2005 · Comments Off · Categories: That's Entertainment!

I don’t know about you, but, to me, the “Jack Bauer – Renegade Agent; Always Right, When The System Is Wrong.” story line is getting a bit old.

Update: I am SO lamenting the cancelation of Arrested Development, and looking forward to the renewal of Family Guy (both, like 24 on FOX, btw).

An Email

14. March 2005 · Comments Off · Categories: General

A fisking on an email I just received:

03-15-05

Subj: ACLUs Current Motto: Eternal Vigilance is the Price of Liberty

The ACLUs vigilance assures that the courts and not the legislators and or the Constitution decide what morals, freedoms and religious beliefs this country follows.

‘
Check your history, and get a clue, idiot. The courts have ALWAYS “legislated from the bench”, and judicial activism comes in all shades. The only answer is to remove power from government. This is something neither conservatives, or liberals, are willing to do.

The ACLUs vigilance assures that the Mexican OPEN BORDERS doctrine they support will soon turn this country into a Third World nation, so as not to make the true Third World countries FEEL BAD.

Au contraire, mon ami. Our borders should be open to ANYONE who can pass a background check. In so doing, we can assume that all others are crossing with mal-intent. And they are subject to being shot-on-sight.

The ACLUs vigilance assures that any and all criminals, terrorists and the baby in the womb murderers get the best legal representation possible, even when guilt or reprehensible behavior is apparent, and inordinate amounts of citizens tax money is wasted, while the ACLUs coffers are being filled to the brim.

It is better that 1000 guilty men go free, than a single innocent man be convicted. This is precisely why we expend such effort in major trials. And it is why we have moral authority to spread (classical) liberal democracy across the globe. Would you rather that women accused of adultery be stoned to death?

The ACLUs vigilance allows that Pedophiles be given the freedom to seduce little boys, so they can join their detestable club when they grow up.

Admittedly, yes. But, your alternative is?

The ACLUs vigilance assures that the Politically Correct Tyranny of the Minority always prevails over any and all reasonable laws of man and God.

Unfortunately, our far greater concern in America today is with the Tyranny of the Majority, on matters such as the recent Transit Bill, where the general public is massively misinformed by those hired to watch over their interests.

The real Motto of the ACLU should be: Eternal, Emotional, Girlie Man Vigilance is the price of Feel Good Liberty.

Tony Valeri, Eugene, OR Tel: 541 607-6305 (tvaov@earthlink.net)

No argument there, Tony, but your approach is all wrong. It seems that you are just another mal-informed reactionary-conservative idiot, who would like to descend this nation into fascism. And, as you have entered the public forum, by e-mailing me, I am publishing your phone number and email, in the hopes my readers “flood your zone” with their objections to your reactionary conservative doctrine.

Update: It seems Jay Tea and myself aren’t the only ones who find Tony to be an annoying nutter.

More on McLeod’s Daughters

12. March 2005 · Comments Off · Categories: General

I have just caught a bid of the WE marathon of the mega-hit Aussie series McLeod’s Daughters. This is the #1 drama series down-under, and is gaining a substancial following here. I can see why.

First, the scripting and production are strictly Yankee quality. Any follower of international productions knows that, even the offerings from major markets, like the UK, are frequently rather crude by our standards. That is not the case here; McLeod’s Daughter’s is first-class all the way. Further, the story lines are quite compeling. What I’m watching just now (Haunted) is from the first season (2001). And the serial story line is not really a big factor. I fear that, as the series has played on, like Dallas, Dynasty, or LA Law, the serial story line will come to dominate, and it will be just another soap-opera.

But oh – the babes! OMG! Sonia Todd (Meg Fountian), the “mum” of the group is like a cross between Concetta Tomei and Holland Taylor. Lisa Chappell (Claire McLeod) is Australia’s Sela Ward. Rachael Carpani (Jodi Fountain) is VERY Rachel Blanchard, with a touch of Kate Hudson. And Jessica Napier (Becky Howard) is like a cross between Jennie Garth, and a very young Meg Ryan.

But my favorite, by a good measure, is Bridie Carter (Tess Silverman McLeod) she is Kathleen Turner, with a strong dose of Rebecca Gayheart, and a marvelous actress in her own right. All I can say is, WOW!

Simon Wiesenthal Center Demands Apology From Livingstone

12. March 2005 · Comments Off · Categories: General, Reader Mail, World

Received this via email today:

SWC To London Mayor: Apologize Now For Antisemitic And Anti-Israel Comments

At a time when violent antisemitic attacks on British Jews increased 42% last year reaching greater levels than in France, where just days before Holocaust Memorial Day Jewish gravestones were desecrated with swastikas, while at the same time there was a spate of violent attacks against Jews in North London, where Jewish students feel increasingly intimidated on university campuses for openly expressing their support for Israel, and when young people in the UK increasingly display a lack of understanding of the Nazi Holocaust, the slanderous comments against a Jewish reporter and the State of Israel by London’s controversial mayor have fueled an already dangerous environment.

Mayor Ken Livingstone’s most recent statements accusing the Israeli government of “ethnic cleansing” and his description of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon as a “war criminal who should be in prison” have added to the anger over comments made last month when he compared a Jewish reporter to a concentration camp guard. Livingstone has refused consistent calls from Prime Minister Tony Blair, British officials, Holocaust survivors, and London’s Jewish community to apologize.

Therefore, we are asking our supporters in Britain and around the world to join the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s protest directly to London Mayor Ken Livingstone to urge him to immediately apologize for his comments trivializing the Holocaust and demonizing Zionism and Israel.

Livingstone has had a long history of conflict with British Jews. Last year, he hosted Sheik Yusuf al Qaradawi, a Muslim Brotherhood Imam who has endorsed suicide bombings against civilians in Israel and attacks on foreign civilians in Iraq. In 2000, he made a speech claiming that global capitalism was responsible for more deaths that the Nazis. And as far back as 1983, in his capacity as a newspaper editor, he published a cartoon of then-Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin dressed in an SS uniform with a caption reading, “The Final Solution.”

Additionally, the Center is urging mayors of all cities to refuse to officially welcome Livingstone to their cities until he apologizes for his reckless and incendiary behavior.

By signing this petition, you will be sending a letter directly to Mayor Livingstone urging him to apologize for his anitsemitic and anti-Israel comments.

Donate now to fight antisemitism and to help us continue our work.
Please support the work of the Simon Wiesenthal Center .
Send inquiries to: information@wiesenthal.net

Livingstone is a wart on the face of Britain. I think he should step down.

Get Your Ticket… The Fix Is In.

11. March 2005 · Comments Off · Categories: Media Matters Not, Politics

I was up at 4AM this morning, doing what I regularly do when up at that hour – watching C-SPAN’s Washington Journal. One of the topics of discussion was “will America be ready for a female Presidential candidate in 2008?” Of course, the focus was on Hillary Clinton and Condi Rice, although a few others were mentioned, most notably Liddy Dole. As usual, most of the callers had anything but a balanced, considered opinion of either. Few mentioned Condi’s youth, or inexperience and seeming discomfort with the world of elective politics. And none mentioned Hillary’s apparent paradigm shift since moving from First Lady to Senator.

But oh, there were many that claimed Condi was “just a puppet of Bush.” (Wait, I thought Cheney was the puppetmaster, or was it Rove?) And there were a few that said Hillary was “just too liberal.” to be President. But this is typical of Washington Journal callers. It is obvious to me that the reality most Americans perceive is what is presented to them by a few very limited sources.

Currently, I am just completing a marathon view of the documentary series Reality of Reality on Bravo. The episode just before this one dealt with how “reality” shows producers “shape” the reality the audience sees. And this is the typical tug-of-war between ethics vs. greed. I can’t help but tie this back to former San Jose Police Chief Joseph D. McNamara’s famous quote about police corruption: “you’ll get 10% that will absolutely toe-the-line, 10% that will certainly be corrupt, and 80% that will fall somewhere in the middle” (paraphrased). But, where is the line drawn?

Later this morning, Washington Journal featured an interview and call-in questions with ex-Newsday columnist Laurie Garrett, who’s scathing memo has been quite the talk for the past week. Her contention is that, for the past decade, the journalistic community has abandoned responsibility, in favor of profits. While I don’t totally disagree with her, it’s been going on far longer than that. Let’s remember, Network dates it 1976. And Peggy Noonan has coined the term, Chronkiteism.

But, in fact, it goes back much farther than that. Surly, all who weren’t napping in high school history class recall the Yellow Journalism period of Hearst and Pulitzer? What was that famous Hearst quote concerning the Spanish-American War? I’m sure my readers can help me out.

But now, tying this all together, Laurie Garrett repeats the old lament about “traditional media’s” failure to present a unified, filtered (edited and fact-checked) vision of the world to and audience which is “too over-worked and stressed” (again, a paraphrase) to spend 5 hours/day on the Internet sorting out the details. She applauds the recent rise to success of such as Salon.com, but includes quite curtly that these electronic media follow the traditional structure. She doesn’t blow away the blogosphere totally, but says, “who has 5hrs./day to sort through that stuff?”

She longs for the halcyon days of Ernie Kovacs and Edward R. Murrow (and thinks this continued in the print media into the 1990’s), and thinks current news producers present no truer form of reality than the producers of Big Brother. Well, dear lady, I have studied the work of both Murrow and Kovacs. And I can certainly say that, while it pales in comparison to what we get today, there was a definite pro-regime (or, at least, not-too-anti) spin on everything they did, particularly in the case of Kovacs.

But, dear Laurie, that doesn’t mean that the work-a-day stiff must rely upon the traditional hierarchy media format, who’s purveyors are just as likely to “shape” the world he/she views in the same way as the “reality TV” viewer. There are many bloggers out there, such as us here at The Daily Brief, who, to one extent or another (Much greater in my own case that of most – I must admit), do their internet homework, plus (at least in my own case) some local footwork for my own stories :), and present the truly important matters of the day to them in a coherent, responsible, and palatable manner.

And we suffer the wrath, when we misstep, as I found when I did my recent post on steroids and Reggie White, Even though I qualified my assertion at the outset, I had a dozen people on my case before I had a chance to return from the restroom. That’s the way it is with popular blogs – the instant you publish, you have 1000-or-more fact-checkers on your case.

And so it goes here; at The Daily Brief, myself, Sgt. Mom, CplBlondie, Timmer, and all others which contribute here, take great care to only present those things as fact which we truely believe to be so, or properly qualify those things we are questionable on. And, we openly qualify our analysis and opinion as that from a person which is part of the defense community. We expect our readership to take that into account. But, with that in mind, we feel we present a balanced view of the world-at-large.

Can any more be asked?

Transportation Bill Passes House

10. March 2005 · Comments Off · Categories: Politics

But every time one of these things goes through, it becomes less about transportation, and more about pork:

Despite passage, some lawmakers remain dissatisfied with the formula for allocating highway grants. States that turn over more in gas tax receipts than they get back in highway aid have clamored for more money.

Under the new bill, California would receive $19 billion over six years, Texas, $16.6 billion, Pennsylvania, $10 billion and Florida $9.9 billion.

Others lawmakers have chafed at the 3,300 mandatory spending requirements, which include pet projects with thin if any link to transportation — like museum renovation in Ohio and the restoration of a historic home in Virginia.

Add that to the massive amount of money spent on public transit programs, which serve only a tiny percentage of commuters, and do nothing to relieve congestion, and it’s time to yell WHOA!

McCain and Feingold Say Blogs Are Safe

10. March 2005 · Comments Off · Categories: Media Matters Not, Politics

This from CNET:

Senators John McCain and Russ Feingold reassured the Internet community that bloggers will not be regulated by federal campaign finance laws.

The senators, who authored the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 known as the McCain-Feingold campaign-finance reform law, issued a statement on Tuesday in response to comments made by a Federal Elections Commission commissioner in a CNET News.com interview last week.

“The latest misinformation from the antireform crowd is the suggestion that our bill will require regulation of blogs and other Internet communications,” they said. “This issue has nothing to with private citizens communicating on the Internet.”

In an interview published on CNET News.com on March 3, Bradley Smith, one of six commissioners on the Federal Elections Commission, said campaign finance laws could be applied to Internet bloggers and online media that link to campaign sites.

In 2002, the FEC exempted the Internet by a 4-2 vote, but U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly last fall overturned that decision. Smith claimed this decision opened the door to regulation for bloggers and online media.

I say that we must still remain vigilant in assuring that our medium remain free. I mean, I could see the hammer coming down on a blogger who accepts a blogad from a “political organization.” I intend to write my representative and senators before the weekend is out, stating my desire that our rights to free expression be specifically codified.

Rather Sez B’Bye

09. March 2005 · Comments Off · Categories: Media Matters Not

I can’t believe how indifferent I am about this. But RatherBiased.com has Rather’s parting statements here. But, for me, as well as many others, Rather has been just a minor player on a third-rate network. Go with G_d, Dan.

Lil’ Help From My Friends

09. March 2005 · Comments Off · Categories: General

I have a little background in honeycomb sandwich panel optical worktables. From this, it occurs to me that similar technology might be employed to create work surfaces which are simultaneously light, rigid, and durable, for other applications.

Am I reinventing the wheel here?

Fosse Takes Third Ridler

09. March 2005 · Comments Off · Categories: General

Orange County boy, Art Center School of Design grad., and star of TLC’s Overhaulin’, Chip Fosse, has just captured his third Ridler Award at the Detroit AutoRama:

Buzz about the car grew over the years. Speculation about what would emerge from hot-rod designer Chip Foose’s garage made it a fixed topic of interest among the tight-knit rod industry.

The one-off car, based on a ’36 Ford Roadster, achieved what it was built to do on Sunday: win the Ridler Award. Named for AutoRama’s first promoter, Don Ridler, it’s easily the most coveted prize among gearheads.

The awe-inspiring auto, dubbed Impression, was built at Foose Design in Huntington Beach for hot-rod enthusiast Ken Reister of Colorado.

Truth is, The Ridler is only arguably the top award, with Oakland’s America’s Most Beautiful Roadster. But, that said, is there any doubt that, with the possible exception of northern Italy, SoCal is the world’s epicenter of automotive design?

US No Longer Technology Leader.

09. March 2005 · Comments Off · Categories: General, Technology, World

This from Forbes:

NEW YORK – Singapore has displaced the United States as the top economy in information technology competitiveness, according to the World Economic Forum’s latest annual Global Information Technology Report released today.

The U.S. drops from first to fifth in the rankings, which measures the propensity for countries to exploit the opportunities offered by information and communications technology (ICT).

Iceland, Finland and Denmark occupy positions two, three and four out of 104 countries surveyed, with Iceland achieving the most improvement among the top countries, moving up from tenth last year.

This F-Ing Computer!

09. March 2005 · Comments Off · Categories: Technology

It seems my Emprex Combo drive has turned “moody”; sometimes it opens, sometimes it doesn’t. I was playing around with Registry Mechanic/Regedit yesterday, so there might be a problem there. But it’s also behaving badly when just running off the boot floppy. So it might be in the drive itself.

The Daily Brief