October 09, 2004
HOWARD! HOWARD!
Excellent news out of
Australia!
Now we just need some good news of our own in November!
Posted by: Sarah at
12:11 PM
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It's interesting to note that the polls before both the California election and the Australian election had things really close and the pundits were all telling us it could go either way, but nothing of the kind happened. In both cases the winner won by a long shot and they both happened to be the conservative candidate.
I suspect the same will happen here. The media is being really dishonest as ABC indicated recently (http://powerlineblog.com/archives/008122.php) or CBS has.
Oh, yeah...and Karzai won by a landslide in Afghanistan.
Posted by: James Hudnall at October 09, 2004 07:30 PM (FV8Tp)
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BROKAW
Every time I watch the news on TV, I remember why I hate watching the news on TV. I just watched the end of the rerun of the presidential debate, and I wanted to drop a 'bow in Tom Brokaw's face. What on earth is wrong with these news anchors who think that the appropriate way to phrase a question is "Well, my guess is that the majority of Democrats think that President Bush is a complete moron who may possibly still wet the bed. Your thoughts, Karen Hughes?" OK, so it wasn't that bad, but Brokaw might as well have substituted "
I think President Bush has lost credibility" instead of pinning his biased and speculative nonsense on the "majority of Democrats." Ugh, I'm staying away from the TV for a while.
Posted by: Sarah at
08:12 AM
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I too get frustrated watching television news, Sarah. But take heart. Did you notice how many of the questions directed at John Kerry last night were obviously from conservatives? I would LOVE it if the mainstream press would ask him if he's going to spend tax dollars on abortions. But at least the average, ordinary Americans (whom the press does NOT represent) are not being led blindly along by the TV news.
Posted by: WVUlawgirl at October 09, 2004 01:15 PM (GVXLo)
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If you want to see the world on TV the way that you see it (i.e. through rose colored glasses) go watch Fox News...or stay here in your homey conservatives only blogosphere.
You scare me. I need to go give some money to the ACLU now.
Posted by: curveball at October 09, 2004 04:13 PM (PGrwU)
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As opposed to the opaque ones you wear, curveball?
Posted by: Mike at October 09, 2004 09:25 PM (+sj2x)
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Hahahaha. Trust me, curveball, I would watch Fox if I could, but here overseas I have to watch whatever they provide, and since military programming tries to be fair, they alternate between news stations.
And I don't need news coverage to be conservative, just fair. Brokaw can't sit all buddy-buddy with Hilary Clinton and let her pontificate and then interview the GOP side of the house and belittle their comments. I'd certainly appreciate some evenhandedness.
You should too if you have any integrity.
Posted by: Sarah at October 10, 2004 03:46 AM (9tKvI)
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THERE IS NO MEDIA BIAS I like how an ABC memo sounded. It basically says that when Bush lies, its center to his re-election campaign and therefore must be brought to light, but when Kerry is lying, it has nothing to do with his election campaign, so we should not try to bring it to light.
Remember, Kerry has had just one position on Iraq, and I think he actually said what it was ONCE. When asked if the war in Iraq was worth it, he said "It depends on the outcome". Now you have to remember how Kerry thinks to understand his real meaning on that. He is not talking about how Iraq goes, it depends on if he wins the election. Thats the outcome he was talking about. Remember, nuanced, if he does not lock down what he means, figure it means something else.
Posted by: Allen Stoner at October 10, 2004 01:52 PM (TFkfJ)
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CIB
I agree with Greyhawk that it's time to
reevaluate the Combat Infantryman's Badge.
UPDATE:
Oh, crap. I'm still not used to the Gazette's new format with ten billion authors. My deepest apologies to John of Argghhh! for misatributing his work. In fact, I agree with John, since he was the one who wrote this post. I also loved Grim's anecdote in the comments section:
So I showed my wife this picture you lead off with tonight, hoping to teach her about the injustice you cite.
Pointing at the three guys sweeping the area with their rifles, I said, "Dear, do these look like infantry or cavalry to you?"
"Cavalry," she said.
"Really?" I asked. "What makes you say that?"
"Well, look how short they are!" she answered.
Posted by: Sarah at
05:10 AM
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I really need to mention this in my posts when I guest-post on Mudville - you agree with John of Argghhh! I'm not sure that Greyhawk has a dog in this fight!
Posted by: John of Argghhh! at October 09, 2004 06:00 PM (10rgs)
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Each branch should have its own combat badge. It can't be a CIB if its given to non-Infantry.
Posted by: Tanker Schreiber at October 11, 2004 11:59 AM (Lsg7m)
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RETURNS
Heh. Pixy thinks a good indicator of who is going to win the election is the
betting odds!
Posted by: Sarah at
03:26 AM
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Looks like they were right, too!
With half the vote counted, John Howard looks set for a fourth term. Yay!
Posted by: Pixy Misa at October 09, 2004 07:40 AM (+S1Ft)
Posted by: Tanker Schreiber at October 11, 2004 11:59 AM (Lsg7m)
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ELECTION DAY
Come on, Australia. We're counting on you.
Posted by: Sarah at
03:21 AM
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You can stop worrying.
Now we're just trying to guess how much their existing majority will increase.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at October 09, 2004 07:56 AM (+S1Ft)
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It's done. John Howard wins by three lengths! Mark Latham has just conceded.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at October 09, 2004 08:49 AM (+S1Ft)
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Woo hoo! Let's hope for the best for the American election now!
Posted by: Sarah at October 09, 2004 09:24 AM (Jq+qQ)
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SOMETHING BETTER?
In the comments section below, Manny wrote the following defense of voting for Kerry:
With Bush it seems that we will get just more of the same. If you like that then I imagine you will vote for him. But with Kerry we may get something better. There are no guarantees but Kerry is certainly not the ogre of the negative campaign.
However, since the first debate, bloggers have been pointing out how Kerry's plans have already failed. Wretchard wrote about how The Global Test already didn't work for us, and CavX addressed the "allies at the table", Iran, and North Korea. I'm not sure I agree that we "may get something better", since Kerry's suggestions seem to be falling apart even before we get to 2 November.
Posted by: Sarah at
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I see this as a misrepresentation of one of Kerry's best arguments.
While I am an avid student of American history there is one document from our earliest history that should be familiar with all your readers. I am referring to our founding document, the Declaration of Independence.
Kerry's argument for US military action that meets the standards of a 'global test' is nothing more that what our founding fathers said when they declared that "... a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation."
Our founding fathers claimed the right to overthrow a legitimate authority that had become tyranical and said that "To prove this,[the tyrany] let Facts be submitted to a candid world."
If our founding fathers were not afraid to explain and to justify themselves to the judgement of mankind I don't see where Bush, or any president, should think he is any better.
Kerry's policy just harkens back to the sensible policy of our forefathers. I believe there is an objective right and objective wrong. I believe these things can be determined and that it is only tyrants who believe they need never justify themselves in the court of public opinion.
I not saying Bush is a tyrant, but clearly his policy is the exact opposite of Thomas Jefferson's, and it seems of John Kerry's as well.
While I believe both Bush and Kerry as just as patriotic as was Jefferson, who 'pledged his life, liberty, and sacred honor' to the revolution it seems that only Bush of these three is contemptious towards what Jefferson called "a decent respect to the opinions of mankind."
Posted by: manny at October 09, 2004 02:06 PM (s6c4t)
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October 08, 2004
TAPS
Here's the Stars and Stripes coverage of
SGT Tyler Prewitt's memorial service.
(A heartfelt welcome to SGT Prewitt's friends and family. For more, read how I knew him and my thoughts on his memorial.)
Posted by: Sarah at
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Sarah - what a beautifully touching story of Tyler. Through your previous writing I surmised what type of person he was, but knowing what happened to him and how others view him - I feel even more strongly now. What a good person we have lost. I'm sorry. I think it's great that his organs have helped others to live. A true hero for America.
Posted by: Kathleen A at October 08, 2004 08:07 AM (vnAYT)
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CONFLICT
My mom got an email forward from a friend about The Impending Draft. The email is so laughable that it's not even worth fisking. It includes all the talking points -- Ready Reserves, North Korea, "I have a son in college" -- and is quite ridiculous. But the more I looked at it, the more I thought, heck, I'll sign a petition against the draft; I don't want any un-trained, un-motivated, spolied kids who don't want to be there having to back
my husband up out on missions. I only want Soldiers and Marines who have volunteered to serve this great country of ours out there fighting, not immature brats (you know, like John Kerry was back when he was
declined for a deferment in Vietnam and then went on to make home movies about his heroism.)
So I clicked on the link to the petition. Heh. It's not a petition against the draft; it's a petition to Demand Honesty. The aim?
I demand to know how George Bush plans to guard the homeland, protect against threats abroad, and stabilize and occupy Iraq -- without resorting to a draft.
Yes, we need troops to fight in Iraq. We need lots of them. Many of my students are leaving in January for their second year in Iraq, and of course that sucks. But I've listened to John Kerry -- god help me -- and I don't see how his plan is going to require any less boots on the ground.
Kerry said in the debate last week:
That's why, in my plan, I add two active duty divisions to the United States Army, not for Iraq, but for our general demands across the globe. I also intend to double the number of special forces so that we can do the job we need to do with respect fighting the terrorists around the world. And if we do that, then we have the ability to be able to respond more rapidly.
Two active duty divisions is an addition of roughly 40,000 people. Where are they going to come from? More active recruitment? Tell that to Michael Moore, Kerry; since you parrot him on other issues, you might want to review his segment on the recruiting Marines. (Oh, and the money will come from cutting crucial defense systems and weapons programs. Way to go, Kerry.)
Kerry has also disingenuously suggested that he would start pulling troops out of Iraq in January. What he specified in the debate last week though was
I didn‘t say I would bring troops out in six months. I said, if we do the things that I‘ve set out and we are successful, we could begin to draw the troops down in six months.
And the thing he's "set out" is to bring more allies to the table to share the load in Iraq. The problem is that he keeps repeating that, knowing full well that Allies Not in Formation on Kerry's Troops Plan: Nations have a hard time supporting his proposal to use their soldiers to fill out the force in Iraq:
"Some Europeans are rather concerned that Mr. Kerry might have expectations for relief [from abroad] that are going to be hard to meet," said one senior European diplomat in a statement echoed in several capitals.
...
The French and German governments have made clear that sending troops is out of the question. British officials have made no such categorical statement, but they have expressed concern that their troops are overstretched.
Although Japan has supplied a 550-member noncombat force as a symbol of its international commitment, analysts there see little chance the nation would agree to send more.
Russia's ambassador to the United Nations, Andrei Denisov, ruled out a commitment of troops. "We are not going to send anybody there, and that's all there is to say," Denisov said.
So Kerry is simply smoking crack if he thinks that he's going to get allied forces to replace our troops on the ground. There won't be anyone replacing the troops already there, so his plan won't work. It's all bogus. (And I think he knows it too, but that's a story for another day.)
Kerry also said during the debate that he would support sending troops to Darfur, Sudan if needed:
Right now all the president is providing is humanitarian support. We need to do more than that. They‘ve got to have the logistical capacity to go in and stop the killing. And that‘s going to require more than is on the table today.
...
But I‘ll tell you this, as president, if it took American forces to some degree to coalesce the African Union, I‘d be prepared to do it because we could never allow another Rwanda.
So our troops do not seem to be more likely to be in garrison (that means staying at their home bases) if Kerry is elected. That's a misrepresentation on his party's side. Kerry's plan -- only leaving Iraq if we're replaced by other allies, deploying to Sudan if necessary -- is not a benefit for our troops. It will not reduce the number of deployments or make extra soldiers or Marines any less necessary.
Maybe we should also be worrying that Kerry might need a draft. After all, it was two Democrats who initiated the draft legislation in the first place...the same legislation, I might add, that was voted down 402-2.
There's not going to be a draft. The last thing anyone who cares at all about the American military wants are ungrateful punks ending up in the ranks. Let the adults handle the job of defending America; the frat boys and hippies can stay at home.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
And so here's my problem. I find myself in an enormous conflict between Roark and CavX.
Roark's philosophy was not that he was going to try to get others to see architecture the way he did. He just kinda thought you were born with it. If you saw things his way, you had common ground. If not, he didn't want to have anything to do with you. Not in a rude way, but in a matter-of-fact, we-have-nothing-to-discuss way.
On the other hand, CavX, through patient perseverance, has managed to covert many lefties that he works with. He lays out the facts, over and over, until the people admit that there can just be no other way of looking at things. And they're won over; CavX has created right-wingers.
So which way is right?
Lots of people thought that President Bush lost the debate last week. They say he's a horrible debater (whereas Kerry appears to be a Master Debater. Sorry, couldn't resist.) But I understand completely where President Bush is coming from: he's Roarkian. I imagine that Pres. Bush was wondering why on earth he had to debate Kerry -- a man who spends most of his time debating himself on the issues -- to prove that he'd be a good President. I imagine he thinks that if his track record doesn't speak for itself, then what else can he say? If you have no common ground at all, where do you begin? The Bush Doctrine has liberated two countries, forced Libya to disarm, unraveled the enormous Oil-For-Food scam, and brought the hope of democracy to millions of people; if he has to sit down and explain to you why that's good, then what's the point? That's why he looked like he was "smirking" during the debate; it pains him, just as it pains me, to hear the string of nonsense that comes of of Kerry's mouth. He tries, but he just can't understand the way Kerry looks at the world. I completely understand that, for that's the reason I have spent a year trying to grok. These things are self-evident to me and to President Bush; if a majority of Americans and voters can't see that, then maybe they don't deserve to have him as their president.
I admire CavX's style, because it's so unlike the way I think. He's methodical and patient; I fly off the handle and want to either rip heads off or end the conversation. I wish I had his skills of persuasion; then maybe my co-workers would stop trying to convince me that Bush is bad.
Which brings us full circle to The Draft. When we get emails like this, or when our co-workers praise Fahrencrap 9/11, what is the proper response? I can't help but think of a passage from The Demon-Haunted World:
Imagine that you enter a big-city taxicab and the moment you get settled in, the driver begins a harangue about the supposed inequities and inferiorities of another ethnic group. Is your best course to keep quiet, bearing in mind that silence conveys assent? Or is it your moral responsibility to argue with him, to express outrage, even to leave the cab -- because you know that every silent assent will encourage him next time, and every vigorous dissent will cause him next time to think twice?
Sagan ends this section with "Figuring out a prudent balance takes wisdom." I just don't know what to think anymore. On the one hand, I think that some people will never see what I see, no matter how articulately I might lay it out, and it's not worth my sanity to try to beat them over the head with Truth. On the other hand, people are going to be voting next month based on bullcrap like this email forward on the draft, and unless we make a serious effort to counter the media and the junk science, we run the risk of losing President Bush.
If that happened, he would likely go home shaking his head, wondering why people just couldn't see what he saw. He shouldn't have to sugarcoat two toppled regimes and almost the whole deck of cards out of the picture.
My ballot is already in the mail; it's a bit late to be thinking about this topic. But who are we going to be over the next three weeks, Roark or CavX?
Posted by: Sarah at
02:42 AM
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The more I see and here of Kerry the more I like him. Most of the military families I talk to are thinking the same way. It seems when people finally get to see and hear Kerry themselves they like him.
I guess it just proves we cannot believe all the negative stuff said about someone by their political opponents. These debates are helping Kerry and hurting Bush in my opinion.
Posted by: Manny at October 08, 2004 02:50 AM (s6c4t)
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Yeah, I'm especially impressed with how Kerry has brought the French and Germans on board. His plan to involve more allies than we already have is gaining so much momentum in the rest of the world that I know as soon as he is elected we can pull all of our troops out and replace them with gendarmes.
Right.......
Posted by: John at October 08, 2004 04:20 AM (+Ysxp)
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Manny, I get just the opposite.
Posted by: Mike at October 08, 2004 07:50 AM (MqNKC)
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Mike, Really?
Most of the military families I talk to who have now had a chance to actually see Kerry for themselves don't think he is the orge that his political opponents tried to make him out to be.
Are you saying that Kerry/Bush debates have shown you that the political stereotypes of either side have been shown out?
I think the debates show that negative attack ads are totally or mostly misleading. I would rather make my decision on the what I can see about a person myself, not what someone with an ax to grind tells me about someone.
The first debate between Bush and Kerry gave us our first opportunity to see these men side by side. Kerry clearly came out better than Bush.
If Kerry wins I think he will make a pretty good president.
Posted by: manny at October 08, 2004 03:22 PM (s6c4t)
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I will never vote for anyone who will not actually USE preemptive action when neccessary.
Based on the debate, Bush seems like he will, as a matter of fact, based on his record I KNOW he will.
Based on the debate, Kerry seems like he won't, and based on his record I'm not willing to bet the future on the fact that he would when neccessary.
Posted by: John at October 08, 2004 03:43 PM (+Ysxp)
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John, good point.
However it is clear now that preemptive action in Iraq was NOT needed. It seems many people thought so at the time as well but Bush wasn't listening to them. Why, I don't know. This is not a point in Bushes favor.
But now that we are in the mess the question is what do we do about it. With Bush it seems that we will get just more of the same. If you like that then I imagine you will vote for him. But with Kerry we may get something better. There are no guarantees but Kerry is certainly not the ogre of the negative campaign.
Like I said neither Bush nor Kerry are as bad as the opposition makes them out to be and Kerry actually looks better the more I see him. Bush just keeps looking worse though as more news comes out about the way he took us into Iraq.
Posted by: manny at October 08, 2004 04:28 PM (s6c4t)
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More compliments; I'm going to get a swelled head. I
do get frustrated with the absolutely intractable. We all know people so totally hardcore they'll never listen to reason; they start spouting improbable conspiracy theories like they're hoping to work on the next Michael Moore movie. Not much you can do with that.
Posted by: CavalierX at October 09, 2004 01:36 AM (sA6XT)
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>However it is clear now that preemptive action
>in Iraq was NOT needed.
Yes, it most certainly was, precisely because we
didn't know his full capabilities, even after 12 years of sanctions and resolutions and inspections. The fact that the estimates were wrong proves that we could have UNDERESTIMATED him just as badly. If we had waited until Saddam was passing out anthrax and botulinum like Halloween candy, it would have been too late, wouldn't it? If he'd only cooperated with the inspections as he should have, there would have been no
need to remove him from power... though it still would have been
right for humanitarian reasons alone, just as it was right to remove Slobodan Milosevic from power for humanitarian reasons.
Posted by: CavalierX at October 09, 2004 01:42 AM (sA6XT)
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BROWNSHIRTS, INDEED
Hud found a link to a round-up of
property damage and threats by Kerry supporters. These are scary times, folks.
Posted by: Sarah at
02:38 AM
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This is beginning to bother me, especially the union organized mobs. The fact that those forcing takeovers of Bush/Cheney HQ's think they are doing good things has to be the worst. I'd wager the whole time they think that they are promoting free speech and not surpressing it. Strange black-is-white up-is-down world.
Nothing like this in my neck of the woods yet, and my Bush/Cheney sign in my window has not been messed with. And a few apartments over there is a John/John sticker in someones window that has also not been messed with. Same with my GF who has rather Large sign in her front window as well.
Posted by: John at October 08, 2004 04:18 AM (+Ysxp)
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It's really unfortunate when idiots do things like this, and it ends up being really bad for the campaign in the long run. (Who wants to vote for someone who attracts criminals.)
On the other hand, the Bush campaign requires those attending his rallies to sign a loyalty pledge, and uses the
secret service to keep those who don't support the president out. Hardly 1st Am. defender there.
No, the two are not directly comparable. The difference, though, is that the latter is not an act of Bush supporters, but of the administration itself.
I don't particularly like either candidate, but I have to say that I think the greatest threat today is balkanization: conservatives and liberals seem increasingly unwilling to talk civilly with one another, and that's just bad for the country.
Posted by: Alex at October 08, 2004 06:02 PM (mksoO)
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Alex, I agree with you about the balkanization. I thought of your comment when I read this article today though:
Only One Campaign...
Posted by: Sarah at October 09, 2004 03:36 AM (FbQyH)
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October 07, 2004
October 06, 2004
DUTY
Faithful readers know that I live with conflicted feelings of not being in the military myself. Maybe it's rationalization, but I found comfort in these
new words from Whittle:
So here I am: feeling useless. But President Bush warned that this was going to be a different war – something unlike anything we had ever seen. The front line now, at this critical time, is in the hearts and minds of our own people. That’s where the real battle is now. That is our weakest point, our breach, our point of failure. We have not made the case to enough people and time is running out.
So maybe now, at this absurd point in this new kind of war, we’re the crack troops, we old and useless pajama patriots reduced to printing up pamphlets to sell war bonds to the weary, to make the case for holding on to an unglamorous, uninspiring, relentless grind because that – not Normandy and Midway – is the face of war in this gilded age of luxury and safety and plenty.
Maybe thatÂ’s our job. Maybe we can help cover some small gap in the lines.
If it's "Duty First", then my duty must be to blog.
I spoke of rejuvenation earlier this week. Whittle can always get me fired up. (He gets Blue 6 and Red 6 fired up too.) And he makes me feel good that I stand with him.
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What a great essay. It makes me want to sit down and try to do the same. I can't.
Posted by: Mike at October 06, 2004 04:54 PM (MqNKC)
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VOTING
I find I'm irrationally afraid of my absentee ballot not making it to Missouri. I can't stop thinking about it. I worry that it's stuck somewhere inside the mailbox and won't get found until it's too late. The bad thing is that there's no way of knowing.
I don't think I ever told the story of how I was almost "disenfranchised" in 2000. I went to the voting place and went into the little booth, and I jacked up my ballot Florida-style. Punched it wrong. But unlike Florida I wasn't so dumb that I didn't realize it, so I stood there and tried to figure out what to do. Both the ballot and the sign on the inside of the booth said that if you make a voting error, you should destroy the ballot and return it to the polling people for a new one. So I emerged from the curtain ripping my jacked-up ballot and asked for a new one. And the volunteers started shouting. They used menacing words like "violation" and "irregularity" and reprimanded me for defiling the voting center. They asked me what on earth would possess me to rip up my ballot, and I calmly replied, "The sign you have printed on the inside of the booth." And then they refused to believe that the sign would say such a thing. I tried to get one of them to come in the booth with me to see it, but they weren't budging. They almost refused to give me another ballot, but finally they relented. I voted properly and then left, but I mentioned that they might want to change their signs since there obviously was a huge discrepancy in procedure. It was a mess.
Plus I voted for the wrong guy! I mean, I punched it right, but BOY would he have been the wrong guy!
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VOTE
Excellent post on why to vote Bush at
Cold Fury (via Bunker). Taste:
Well, here’s why: because the choice isn’t between Bush and George Patton; it isn’t even between Bush and Barry Goldwater. The choice is between a man who, in the end, has made the right moves, if sometimes diffidently, and a man who has shown over a long career in the Senate that he is not just indifferent but actually hostile to the use of American military power in pursuit of American interests. The choice is between a man who, in the immediate aftermath of the most hideously successful terrorist attack in history, had the bedrock good sense and unabashed patriotism to be unable to conceal his anger, and a man who would have needed three polls and a focus group to tell him how he ought to feel about it in order not to discomfit and alienate his America-hating Lefty base. The choice is between a man who genuinely seems to like soldiers, respect their service, believe in their competence, and honor their intelligence and basic decency, and a man who underhandedly wriggled out of his own commitment and came home to slander them as butchers and latter-day “Jenjis” Khans.
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Sorry to hijack this comment thread, but I didn't think you'd mind.......
BILL WHITTLE'S BACK!!!!!!!
YEA!
Posted by: MargeinMI at October 06, 2004 09:46 AM (yAoyA)
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You can go on pouting about John Kerry all you want but Kerry will win in November.
Without another republican theft he will be President in January. Get used to it.
Posted by: dc at October 06, 2004 02:48 PM (s6c4t)
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HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Feeling threatened?
Posted by: Sarah at October 06, 2004 03:26 PM (4kYUJ)
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October 05, 2004
STUCK
OK, now
THIS was definitely the laugh I needed today.
Those poor guys!
And this was freaking funny too.
(both via Iraq Now)
Posted by: Sarah at
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MEMORIAL
I just got back from the memorial service for
SGT Tyler Prewitt. I really wish I had gotten to know him better than our ten emails; he seems like an amazing guy. And his is a story that everyone should hear.
He left college after 9/11 and tried to join the infantry but was rejected because of his colorblindness. He then became a combat medic and deployed to both Kosovo and Iraq. Everyone spoke highly of him, saying he was always on the front lines, even when he would get reminded that as a medic he was supposed to hang back! They joked that he was the only medic with a sniper scope on his rifle; one of his fellow Soldiers said that Prewitt was equally a medic and a warrior.
In fact, his vehicle was hit by an RPG while he was trying to move forward to see if medical assistance was needed. They said that he remained calm and was instructing the people around him how to care for his wounds. His family came to Landstuhl and had to make the difficult decision to switch off the machines, but even in death Tyler Prewitt was saving lives. He became an organ donor, and his organs were used to save no less than seven other people at Landstuhl. I -- and his family -- take great comfort in knowing that his death brought so much life to others.
I wish I had known Tyler Prewitt better because he sounds like a wonderful man and the type of Soldier I would like to know. I'm happy that he touched my life in such a small way and that I got to hear his story.
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God bless his family. We have some unbelieveably fine young men and women in our military services.
I remember a story of a woman whose son's heart had been transplanted into a young woman. The lady always told people, "Isn't that young woman wonderful. She donated he entire body to keep my son's heart alive."
Posted by: Mike at October 05, 2004 09:21 AM (MqNKC)
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Tyler was a close friend of mine here in Phoenix & a best friend to my brother in law. It means a lot to hear your kind words of a man who is a hero and touched so many lives. Be it brief, or grand... Tyler always gave his all.
Posted by: Jason Roman at October 06, 2004 02:10 AM (/ItKS)
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Tyler was truly a model of an American soldier. I was his best friend and he told me many times how proud he was to serve his country and if giving his life was necessary to do so then he had no fear in doing that. It has been comforting to see and read the outpour that has followed his passing. God Bless every soldier who remains.
Posted by: Jen McCormick at October 06, 2004 01:07 PM (yHQa5)
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Thank you, Jason and Jen, for writing comments here. I want you to know that Tyler touched many people, even in trivial ways, and he will not be forgotten.
Posted by: Sarah at October 06, 2004 03:29 PM (4kYUJ)
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ALTHOUGH I WASNT PERSONALLY FRIENDS WITH TYLER, I WAS AWARE OF WHO HE WAS SINCE I WAS A 2000 GRADUATE OF GREENWAY. IT IS AMAZING TO ME THAT SO MANY BRAVE MEN AND WOMEN ARE WILLING TO RISK THEIR OWN LIVES FOR OTHERS. I AM PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN AND PROUD TO BE FREE BECAUSE OF PEOPLE LIKE TYLER PREWITT...
Posted by: MEGAN at October 07, 2004 11:01 PM (LgZXn)
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May God rest his soul and comfort those he left behind. The men and women who willingly serve to protect us hear at home and liberate the oppressed are surely a gift to all of us. My gratitude to these troops cnnot be expressed often or strongly enough.
Posted by: Pat in NC at October 10, 2004 11:49 AM (y/2dZ)
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It's hard to believe that Tyler's gone. I didn't know him as long as Jen or Jeremy--I only got to know him when he was a freshman in HS and really only knew him from church--but he was an amazing young man. I'll be proud to serve in the Army that Tyler so diligently served.
Posted by: Mel at October 10, 2004 05:15 PM (I22Pl)
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Jen, hi. I am sorry I couldn't be with you guys at home but I am studying abroad this year. In fact ironically I was not 30 miles from where Tyler was flown into. I can't believe Tyler is gone, that's such a big loss to the world. I grew up playing baseball with him every season that I can remember. He was always a leader and he always gave his all in everything he did. He was such a good guy and he will always be in my memories.
Posted by: Kevin at October 11, 2004 04:31 PM (aQ55F)
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I knew Tyler since I was in the 8th grade and he was in 7th. Though I did not know him that well until after highschool I will always remember his great personality, goofy sense of humor and awesome laugh! I attended his funeral services and was very touched, especially by the video at the end. The song "Proud to be an American" now has greater meaning to me than it ever has. "And I am proud to be an American where at least I know I am free, and I wont forget the men who died who gave that right to me". Tyler I wont forget. Thank you for your sacrafice.
Posted by: Sarah "Sexton" Freswick at October 11, 2004 08:05 PM (rxlLT)
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geocities.com/sgt_tylerprewitt
Posted by: chris primerano at October 13, 2004 06:24 PM (OMDE4)
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I just read the news today...
I was Tyler's squad leader during our 91W training at Fort Sam Houston. I knew Tyler to be a strong and determined soldier and medic who proudly excelled in his military career. I am preparing to deploy in November with the 1-128th Inf to the same area that took Tyler from us. I will hold him fast in my memory and serve this country with the same seadfast conviction and determination that Tyler did as the only proper memorial to his name. My most sincere and heartfelt condolences to his family and friends. I wish I had known him for longer than our four months in Texas. I am honored to have known him at all. God bless you all.
Posted by: Mitch Knapmiller at October 17, 2004 04:27 PM (nit9f)
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Tyler was one of my heroes growing up, and is even more so now. I wish I had half his courage. Even though he relentlessly beat me at video games, I'll never forget my cousin or what he did with his life. God bless him.
Posted by: Andy at October 24, 2004 09:43 PM (I+gup)
Posted by: challenge at June 23, 2005 11:09 PM (6+mWx)
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BINGO
Now
this game is really funny! I wish I had found this before I watched the debate rerun. (Make sure to check out all four pages!)
Posted by: Sarah at
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VOTE
This article,
Troops in survey back Bush 4-to-1 over Kerry, jives with my husband's assessment of his own platoon.
By the way, the husband sent his ballot the other day. As long as the mail moves along in a timely fashion, the two of us will be squared away for 2 November.
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And so long as the Democrats don't try to invalidate overseas military absentee ballots like they tried to do in 2000.
Kalroy
Oh, sed nunc malium malius me habeo, but I'm feeling much better now.
Posted by: Kalroy at October 05, 2004 07:07 AM (al6AG)
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My hubs called tonight, their ballots left on today's chopper.
I can't speak for his platoon, but if how the wives are voting is any indication, the numbers would hold up at this end as well.
Posted by: Tink at October 06, 2004 06:08 AM (S6VXg)
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October 04, 2004
STRENGTH
A few months ago, a friend of mine was looking at my bookshelf. She commented on
The Fountainhead there, saying that it was the worst book she'd ever read. I was puzzled, because I had remembered it being a very good book, but I had read it in high school, so I thought perhaps I would think differently eight years later. I read it again in Italy, and I realized that it was just as good as I had remembered it being.
I love Howard Roark.
I look at him a little differently now than I did in high school, but I love him for all the same reasons. I love him because he's everything I'm not. He's confident and self-assured and he doesn't get driven nuts by people who don't live by his values. I get driven nuts. A lot. But after reading the book again, I think I will be better able to work on letting go of some of those feelings and learning to be more self-assured.
I've always been sort of "evangelical" about my values. I think they're the right ones, and I want other people to think so too. I've never been good at the live-and-let-live when it comes to values, and I spend way too much time worrying about how to present the issues to people who disagree with me so I can "convert" them. I need to give that up, to let go of the idea that I can change people. I need to be more like Oriol, our American in Spain: "I just don't care about the criticism I receive every day, because I know the cause I defend is right." I'm learning from Roark. I'm learning from Oriol. And I recently learned from General Hans Oster.
I was introduced to this brave man when we went to the concentration camp. I'm sure there were more like him, but I had never read a story like General Hans Oster's. As I stood on the site where he was executed, I thought about the bravery it would have taken to stand up against Hitler. I have trouble standing up to negative commenters.
There are people out there whose fortitude constantly amazes me. I can only try to honor them by working every day at being stronger. Since reading The Fountainhead again, I think I'm on the right path, but every day brings a new lesson to test that strength.
Posted by: Sarah at
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Memorable Quotes from the film version of The
Fountainhead
Ellsworth Toohey : We're alone. Why don't you tell me what you think of me.
Howard Roark : But I don't think of you.
Posted by: Tanker Schreiber at October 04, 2004 04:44 PM (Ojb6u)
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I found 'We, the Living' to be the best of her books - but you have to be in a strong frame of mind to read it. It's about Russia and Communism - but more than that, it's about freedom, and what it's worth.
Posted by: Glenmore at October 04, 2004 11:04 PM (OSLhs)
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As a writer I have problems reading Ayn Rand because she isn't a very good writer, technically. Her passion drives her work, but she does these huge monologues that I find really didactic.
I will say it's a good skill to aquire to not let people get to you. You have to develop this zen understanding that what other people say and do is about them, not you. When people get angry at you or call you names, as some trolls on this site might do, it's just a reflection of their immaturity and or lack of a centered nature.
And you can lead a horse to water...people coem to wisdom on their own. You you can do is try to help them see it.
Posted by: James Hudnall at October 05, 2004 12:28 AM (FV8Tp)
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Re-read The Fountainhead, We The Living, and Atlas Shrugged every few years---it will strengthen your will and remind you of the important things.
Posted by: david at October 05, 2004 12:49 AM (1+76a)
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Thank you for introducing me to General Oster. What an incredible gift he was. We'll never know how many were saved because he chose to take a stand and risk everything to fight the evil of his time.
Posted by: Lyana at October 05, 2004 04:05 PM (MLjhW)
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It's too bad that Oster isn't as well known as Count Stauffenberg...he deserves enormous credit for his early recognition of the evil of Naziism.
Sarah, if you haven't already seen it you might be interested in the German film "The White Rose" (German with English subtitles). It's about Hans and Sophie Scholl and the other students in their resistance group.
Posted by: David Foster at October 05, 2004 09:06 PM (XUtCY)
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LINKS
Tanker sent some good links again:
3 Nations Reportedly Slowed Probe of Oil Sales (guess who!)
Iranian Citizens Trash Fahrenheit 9/11
And I'm sure by now that everyone has seen that ridiculous photo of Kerry reaching through his legs. I still can't figure out what the heck he's doing!
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"I still can't figure out what the heck he's doing!"
Neither can I. Too bad it's not a GREEN football.
One could use such photos as counterevidence against lamestream media pro-Kerry bias (unless they're taken by Vast Right Wing Conspiracy infiltrators). They're not very flattering. This particular picture is just mystifying.
Posted by: Amritas at October 04, 2004 11:51 AM (uOTUR)
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I really have to laugh at you for this. And you call yourself an American?
During WWII it was a commonplace routine when questioning suspected battlefield infiltrators to talk about baseball to determine their level of shared American experiences. If they didn't know who won the World Series they were likely to get shot.
Now we have you and your half-wit friends who cannot recognize a center snap. Any real American who played football growing up, even just watched their father and brothers play in the back yard, or on the streets, knows what a center snap looks like.
Do we have an enemy amidst our troops? Perhaps you should recieve a visit from FBI.
Posted by: dc at October 04, 2004 03:38 PM (s6c4t)
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If that's a center snap, it's the most awkward, ugly, un-athletic snap I've ever seen.
(And perhaps you should receive a visit from Miss Manners. Lord, you're nasty.)
Posted by: Sarah at October 04, 2004 04:03 PM (RtxzU)
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