Alarming News: I like Morgan Freeberg. A lot.
American Digest: And I like this from "The Blog That Nobody Reads", because it is -- mostly -- about me. What can I say? I'm on an ego trip today. It won't last.
Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler: We were following a trackback and thinking "hmmm... this is a bloody excellent post!", and then we realized that it was just part III of, well, three...Damn. I wish I'd written those.
Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler: ...I just remembered that I found a new blog a short while ago, House of Eratosthenes, that I really like. I like his common sense approach and his curiosity when it comes to why people believe what they believe rather than just what they believe.
Brutally Honest: Morgan Freeberg is brilliant.
Dr. Melissa Clouthier: Morgan Freeberg at House of Eratosthenes (pftthats a mouthful) honors big boned women in skimpy clothing. The picture there is priceless--keep scrolling down.
Exile in Portales: Via Gerard: Morgan Freeberg, a guy with a lot to say. And he speaks The Truth...and it's fascinating stuff. Worth a read, or three. Or six.
Just Muttering: Two nice pieces at House of Eratosthenes, one about a perhaps unintended effect of the Enron mess, and one on the Gore-y environ-movie.
Mein Blogovault: Make "the Blog that No One Reads" one of your daily reads.
The Virginian: I know this post will offend some people, but the author makes some good points.
Poetic Justice: Cletus! Ah gots a laiv one fer yew...
Stunning Level of Apathy II
Monday afternoon, I had to say something about it when John Kerry claimed people wouldn’t be fighting in the Middle East if only he had won the 2004 elections. Putting words in the long mouth? Am I? You be the judge.
“If I was president, this wouldn’t have happened,” said Kerry during a noon stop at Honest John’s bar and grill in Detroit’s Cass Corridor.
Bush has been so concentrated on the war in Iraq that other Middle East tension arose as a result, he said.[emphasis mine]
What I found to be amazing about this little bit of personal delusion on the part of the good Senator, personally, was the apathy. There may be conflict between Lebanon and Israel because President Bush hasn’t been mediating some kind of crisis or another, like he should (food for thought, could that be because our liberals won’t let him get involved in situations that “pose no danger to the United States”?). There may be conflict because of something that had nothing to do with the USA in any way. There may be conflict because somebody looked at somebody cross-eyed. There may be conflict because…aw, who knows what? Point is, President Kerry has no role in deciding this stuff. People wanna fight, they’ll fight.
Kerry ended up performing a huge disservice to his supporters. He revealed how incredibly out of touch they are; no small slight, to the progressives who insist the red-staters are the “dumb” ones. Or how incredibly insulated from human affairs they are. Or how often they watch “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” and how solidly they come away with the notion that mediating disputes is as simple a matter as having a fancy French pedigree, wearing a uniform, and being bald. Or some combination of the three. Either way, that was a stunningly silly thing to say.
Well, the challenger for the Governor’s chair in my state, apparently doesn’t agree. Phil Angelides suffers from a stunning level of apathy about what the California Governor gets to decide, versus what the California Governor does not get to decide.
“I know all about asthma. I’ve been on an inhaler since I was 5 years old,” said Kody York, 9, looking at Angelides from the stage in Fresno. “I’ve been hospitalized for it twice, and I wish the air quality would be better.”
Angelides told the boy: “I can’t promise you that I can solve every problem — I can’t promise you that I can cure what you struggle with — but I can promise you this: I’m going to try as hard as I can to protect you and make it easier for you to breathe and to clean our air.”
Quite reasonable. There are all kinds of things that can be done to clean the air, especially in my neighborhood — which you could say, technically, Fresno is. Kinda sorta.
Too reasonable. Angelides did not stop; he went on.
Angelides said that as governor he would enact policies that would result in reducing by half — or 80,000 — the number of hospital visits made by children with asthma.
Like I was asking four days ago: What is it about being a Democrat? What’s up with these campaign issues, that aren’t issues at all because as any child could see, both sides would agree they’re good things? Why even discuss these things that depend, either wholly or in part, on external factors completely beyond human control?
Wouldn’t it be powerful to show yourself on the campaign trail, actually making the distinction between what you get to decide vs. what you do not get to decide, if you actually win the election? Angelides himself must agree, at least partly. He thinks he’ll be more popular if he ‘fesses up that he can’t promise to solve every problem. Okay, then. Politically, it’s an issue when candidates promise more than they deliver, and Angelides appears to sign on to this. Then…he starts talking about what the statistics will say as a result of his policies. Why? What is the point? Did he discuss the policies at all? I hope he did. I see no mention of it here.
Even if he did go into detail, which I doubt, why even talk about the 50%? If there’s a likelihood the policies will cut the problem by 50%, there’s a likelihood the policies will cut the problem by 90%. So why not say 90%? I’m sure 64,000 asthma sufferers would love that. If he’s limiting it to the lower number because he wants to limit it to what he’s in a position to guarantee, then what he said was fifty points too high, right?
One more time…the Onion article lampooning John Edwards’ “Chris Reeve will get outta that chair” speech from October of 2004. Perfect fit. Perfect.
If you put John Kerry and me in the White House, we’ll have each one of you in the driver’s seat of a brand-new SUV. Your bosses will be less cranky, your children will be kept in trucker hats and iPods, and your TV screens will grow even wider. Those who are bald will wake up one morning and magically find themselves with thick heads of luxurious, silky hair. You’ll open your refrigerators and 15-pound hams will tumble out. Your dog might even start to talk, and the first thing he’ll say is “I love you.” It’ll be that good.
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