That's funny, I got it

It's too bad John Kerry didn't take a more ... active approach ... to his own defense back in the 2004 election. He allowed a bunch of questionable veterans to trash his war record, mainly by not stepping up and exposing those same veterans as the liars they really were.

Doesn't seem that the same kinds of things are going to work, now.

The implications of his comments: "You know, education, if you make the most of it, you study hard, you do your homework and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. If you don’t, you get stuck in Iraq" are all too obviously directed at Bush--not the soldiers serving there. No intelligent person would consider that the soldiers who volunteered for the military are "stuck" anywhere, nor that they would have slacked off to get there, either. They are clearly heroes who are putting their lives on the line for us. Anyone entering the military knows what lies in store--yet they volunteer anyway. Some of our best and brightest join, so there is truly no shame in being a soldier. No more than for those who join police forces or become firemen.

Of course it would be impossible for the administration to see that the joke's on them. Oh, and Tony Snow? "I'm a little astonished that he didn't figure it out already ... If I say something stupid, I apologize as quickly as possible.” By my estimation, Mr. Snow is way behind on his apologies. What a brainless tool. I would have thought he would have figured it out, by now, but obviously not.

Do I believe terrorists have the same rights as Americans?

This question is being posed by various Republican campaigns in a (somewhat) misleading lead-up to discrediting their Democratic opponents. I think it can be clarified very simply. Ask: Do you mean terrorists convicted in a court of law? Or do you mean foreign nationals abducted by American operatives and being held without the benefit of counsel or formal charges, and unable to answer any such charges in a court of law?

Because these "terrorists" are two completely different groups of people. If convicted, I say do whatever the law allows--the answer is all too clear. If not convicted, but merely accused, I ask this question: What would you want to happen if the accused was you?

This is not being weak on terrorism; it's the law.

Olbermann says it very well

I found this video via The Huffington Post. When I saw the ad originally I was both shocked and amazed. Not shocked that there are terrorists in the world, nor amazed that they're still out there (though after 5 years you'd think we would have caught Bin Laden, at least), but amazed that anyone could possibly believe that if the Democrats--good, patriotic Americans that are members of a major political party--were to be elected into office, then America would suddenly be destroyed by terrorists.

Right. The terrorists are only waiting for our midterm elections to strike. They so fear the current administration that they only wait for the first sign of perceived "weakness" to let loose the bombs.

Bush would gain more effectiveness as a terror deterrent by claiming "All us Republicans are stark-raving crazy! We will do anything and everything! The terrorists are scared shitless by us! You absolutely must keep us in office because only by being crazier than the terrorists can we hope to keep America safe!" I would believe that, unfortunately.

If we are afraid, and we are fearful, the terrorists achieve their objective. They win. Sure, they say they want to destroy us, but we all know they can't. But, make us afraid? Sadly, with the help of the Republicans, they have succeeded beyond their wildest dreams.

Observations: Particularly Political

Something I've observed about politicians: they tend to ascribe to those who oppose them (whether they are other politicians or not) the same characteristics and (questionable) use of tactics as they themselves have.

"Scientists warning about global warming have a hidden political agenda." This was uttered by an "esteemed" Senator from Oklahoma. I wonder who really has the hidden political agenda?

"Democrats just want to play party politics." This said by a hardball-wielding member of the current administration, famous for his politicizing of nearly everything. Again, it's a matter of pot and kettle denigrating each other for their soot-inspired hues.

Sure, I am quite willing to lump all politicians (of any persuasion) into the same category. They all lie, all the time, it's just a matter of whose lie you want to believe. We're gonna need a bigger hand basket, methinks.

And while we're on the subject of lies, how can anyone in this country believe, in good conscience, that Bush has never been about "stay the course"? How many times has he said it? Hundreds? (Don't believe me, of course, do some web research. You gots an intarwebs tube.) So, I suppose this means that while he has said the phrase, it didn't mean then what he says it means now. Sure. Whatever.

Yeah, I know: Clinton lied. He did, and it was wrong. He should have come clean and simply said: "Yeah, I fucked her. Blow me." Because in the end, it was just a blowjob in the Oval Office. And it's not like that has never happened before. But whether other politicians have lied, or not, has nothing at all to do with why this one is lying now. I think you have to tell the truth.

Surely Christian values don't include the idea that the ends justify the means. I was taught that it doesn't matter whether you win or lose, but how you play the game. Of course, it does matter that you win, but it also matters that you play truly and well. That's how I get up every morning and look myself in the mirror.

Google is immoral?

OK, I just have to comment on the notion, as reported via Techdirt, that linking to free, publicly available content on the web (italics just so you understand the context of the situation) is somehow immoral or a violation of copyright.

It's so incredibly simple: if you don't want others to access your content without paying, or if you are worried that they might steal your stuff from you, then don't friggin' put it out there without security (like a password and a credit card authorization). Believe me, if I was the least bit worried that someone would steal something from my web site, I wouldn't have put the stuff out there to begin with.

The only reason I rehosted a bunch of my images to Flickr was so I could see what traffic was really people visiting my site vs. people who were visiting others' sites (that were hotlinking to me). A few of my fractal images seem to be quite popular as backgrounds. All my images are still publicly available for download/hotlinking/viewing by anyone.

So, if you're worried about keeping your stuff protected, my advice to you is: don't hang it out there.

Fearing for the soul of our country

I returned over the weekend from a trip to Fort Benning, where we watched my wife's son graduate from basic training. She is quite rightfully worried that she could lose her son in this war, but since he's going into advanced training for the next 20 weeks, that time isn't yet iminent.

You might think I am not a supporter of our military. My "liberal" views on some things, like the Bill of Rights and our rights under habeus corpus, and my belief that we have been lied to (or, if you don't like strong language--intentionally misled) about the war in Iraq, might make you think I'm somehow soft when it comes to national defense. No. Those young men who have volunteered to put themselves in harm's way are already heroes. It couldn't be more important. But where I disagree with the administration is in the how and where these troops should be deployed.

We are mired in a tar pit in Iraq, and we absolutely must develop a clear path to extricate ourselves from this situation. When/if the next attack comes, we cannot be so otherwise engaged that we can't adequately respond to the new threat. There is no cut and run. We must reduce our involvement in Iraq precisely because we will need those men elsewhere.

It seems, if you believe the news, that we are already giving up on Afghanistan. The Taliban are too popular and too entrenched for us to even think of removing them. It seems we now might allow them back into power, so we can get out and on to other things. I don't know whether it's right or wrong, but surely there are people smarter than I am who are running this show! What was the strategy? What was the plan? Have we achieved the objective, or have things not gone as well as we'd hoped they would?

Of course, no one would talk about our plans even if they had them. Our plans and strategies need to remain secret, so as not to give the enemy any advantage. The American people need to trust their leaders--trust that they have our best interests in mind. Unfortunately, I am not alone in fearing that we cannot trust our leadership.

Bush is not a bad man. I never thought he was evil, just average. Rich, spoiled, a dry drunk, and not very intelligent. I didn't think he deserved to be president because I wanted my president to be the smartest man in the room. Bush clearly isn't.

Cheney is unconscionable, unscrupulous and greedy. Rove, who decides political strategy for the administration, has a special place next to the prince of darkness. I'm sure he will plan strategy there, when the time comes. These are evil men who would drag this country into oblivion while claiming to be our greatest defenders.

We cannot trust these men to lead us. They would keep us fearful. They will lie and cheat, and prey upon our children in the name of national security. There is no accountability, and no conscience. They are not heroes, and they need to be removed from their positions of power.

I know that few people read this blog. That's OK. I don't make posts on a consistent basis, and it's true that in order to be read you have to have something to say. Regardless, I speak my mind in the hopes that someone might read this and be moved to think about things in a new light.

What makes America great is our freedom and our rule of law. This is now being subverted in the name of "security", and I fear that once we give up our rights, getting them back will be considerably more difficult. Just so we don't forget, thousands of Americans gave their lives to ensure our freedom and our rule of law. I am worried that thousands more might have to follow them to get these freedoms back.

Which brings me back to our military. I want their moral choices to be clear. I want them to stand for what is right and what is good, and not to follow the orders of evil, corrupt men. Today, they are being commanded by men who have no problem holding prisoners forever without a trial. And a law has been passed that will give our leaders the ability to imprison anyone without the benefit of being charged and tried, just by declaring them terrorists.

Of course, as I have said before, they are only terrorists once they have been tried in a court of law. Until then, they are innocent. No matter what anyone says, because that's our law. Our law that says that it would be better to let a hundred criminals go free than to wrongfully convict an innocent man. We know some of these men being held are innocent. Let's find out which ones they are, and let them go.