TRUTHS OF A DIFFERENT HUMAN ORDER
I am closing in on the end of my 2009 Reading Challenge. Unfortunately, all I want to do is read Atlas Shrugged again, but I ain't tackling a 1200 page book when I'm up against Karl Rove. So I was happy to pick up For the New Intellectual, a gift from Amritas. I have long wished I had access to a searchable Atlas, but this has the next best thing: excerpts of some of the best monologues from the book. I read them on the plane and got all embiggened yesterday.
And also nervous:
And, paving the way for Attila, the intellectuals are still repeating, not by conviction any longer, but by rote, that the growth of government power is not an abridgment of freedom -- that the demand of one group for an unearned share of another group's income is not socialism -- that the destruction of property rights will not affect any other rights -- that man's mind, intelligence, creative ability are a "national resource" (like mines, forests, waterfalls, buffalo reserves, and national parks) to be taken over, subsidized, and disposed of by the government -- that businessmen are selfish autocrats because they are struggling to preserve freedom,while the "liberals" are the true champions of liberty because they are fighting for more government controls -- that the fact that we are sliding down a road that has destroyed every other country, does not prove that it will destroy ours -- that dictatorship is not dictatorship if nobody calls it by that abstract name – and that none of us can help it, anyway.
Do you wish to know whether that day is coming? Watch money. Money is the barometer of a society's virtue. When you see that trading is done, not by consent, but by compulsion--when you see that in order to produce, you need to obtain permission from men who produce nothing--when you see that money is flowing to those who deal, not in goods, but in favors--when you see that men get richer by graft and by pull than by work, and your laws don't protect you against them, but protect them against you--when you see corruption being rewarded and honesty becoming a self-sacrifice--you may know that your society is doomed. Money is so noble a medium that is does not compete with guns and it does not make terms with brutality. It will not permit a country to survive as half-property, half-loot.
Reading Rand always reminds me of this Daniel Quinn quote: "We know that the pious don't go to church every Sunday because they've forgotten that Jesus loves them but rather because they've not forgotten that Jesus loves them. They want to hear it again and again and again and again. [...] there are truths, of a different human order, that must be enunciated again and again and again -- in the same words and in different words: again and again and again."
I like to be reminded that someone like Rand lived, and wrote, and thought.
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Thanks for mentioning me. I last reread For the New Intellectual on a plane almost exactly a year ago (26 November 200
. So it's neat that you also read it on a plane. At the time, Obama's election was still fresh on my mind and the book made me cry. I've had the book by my side for the last year, and I may reread it when I board a plane next month.
I come here for reinforcement. I like to be reminded that someone like you lives, writes, and thinks.
Posted by: Amritas at November 15, 2009 12:45 PM (G4Rx6)
I'm home. I missed a call from my husband today while I was on my flight. Two weeks and counting since we had a four-minute phone call. Oy. I am not a fan of this particular deployment.
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Yes, it must be the hormones. And I must have something in my eyes. Thanks for posting that. Glad you are home safe. Sorry you missed that call. Sometimes just hearing a voice is comfort enough.
Posted by: Mare at November 15, 2009 08:49 AM (HUa8I)
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Thanks for that link. The Bushes are special people. I was lucky to hear Barbara speak at a convention I attended several years ago. Maybe someday I'll be able to hear some others in this special family.
Posted by: Miss Ladybug at November 16, 2009 12:07 AM (YJ5uY)
VETERANS
I had dinner with a veteran last night. My father-in-law was an MP at Fort Hood in the 70's. I kept thinking about what it would have been like for him to be an MP there last week...
I also talked briefly on the phone to a veteran: my husband's brother. He's out of the Army now but he was deployed to Iraq in 2004 at the same time my husband was.
And I will eat dinner with another veteran tonight. Time spent with Chuck Z is always appreciated.
I did not get to hear from my favorite veteran of all yesterday...but hopefully soon.
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ONE MORE TRIP
Tomorrow I am headed on another trip, this time to visit my in-laws. It will be my first time visiting them by myself...at least since 2000 when I moved to my husband's hometown to be near him for the summer and he went to Airborne School for a few weeks. That was the last time I hung out with his parents without him. Funny, that seems like so long ago.
Since this will be the first grandchild on both sides of the family, I wanted to let my husband's parents get to be a part of the joys of pregnancy and grandparenthood too. They deserve to get to feel tummy kicks just like my mom did.
And my husband's grandmother will be a first time great-grandma too. Exciting milestones for everyone. It will be a fun trip.
So no blogging for the rest of the week. But since I'm apparently down to a mere 49 readers -- oy -- I guess it's not that big of a deal.
Posted by: Heather at November 10, 2009 10:08 AM (k4L7l)
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That's awful sweet of you. If I were going to be around this week I'd tell you I'd try to meet up with you somewhere. Maybe get a few of those maternity pictures in. :-) Safe travels
Posted by: Sara Vidotto at November 10, 2009 02:37 PM (dSx+u)
Posted by: Lucy at November 10, 2009 02:40 PM (YNvUz)
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Have a great trip. And I don't believe you could possibly be down to only 49 readers.
Posted by: Butterfly Wife at November 10, 2009 05:18 PM (iroE4)
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hey, it's quality not quantity that's important, right?
Posted by: sharona at November 10, 2009 09:37 PM (BeRta)
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That is so sweet for you to think to include them. My daughter was the first grandchild for my parents, but not my husband's. Sounds like there is going to be some serious spoiling going on soon.
Posted by: Lorie Byrd at November 11, 2009 01:21 AM (wcsec)
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My daughter in law and her family have been so good to me and my husband while he's been deployed. Our grand baby was the first on both sides too. I'm so glad you are doing this, your in laws are just as thrilled and excited as your parents. I am sure they will treasure the time they get to spend with you and the coming grandchild. Have fun! and bless you!
Posted by: tibby at November 11, 2009 11:18 AM (S/Fac)
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That is so sweet. I see my daughter has been here before me.'D She just became a grandmother and I a great grandmother 2 months ago tomorrow. It was a thrill to hold our little one only 15 minutes after his birth. And we are on the daddy side of the family, the mother's side could not have been more welcoming. Oh yes, we are a proud to know you 49!
Posted by: Ruth H at November 12, 2009 12:30 PM (JFseb)
Tell me something: in a moment of national tragedy, is it really too
much to expect that the President of the United States not give "shout
outs"? Is it too much ask that he understand the difference between the
Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Medal of Honor? What we require
from our leaders at times like this is not much. They don't have to
actually care. What we want is precisely the kind of thing that comes
easily to Barack Obama: honeyed words and a show of empathy from a man
who thinks that quality is the most important attribute a Supreme Court
judge can possess. But somehow, asking the Commander in Chief of our
armed forces to to give the appearance of empathy even if the actual
feeling was not there - was too much.
Americans expect something more from leaders in times of trouble.
Grace. Empathy. Inspiration. A sense of gravity. When the Space Shuttle
Challenger exploded killing 7 astronauts, Ronald Reagan postponed the State of the Union report to address and assuage the nation's shock and mourning.
Barack Obama, on the other hand, was giving shout outs.
And an absolute must-read from JR Salzman about true PTSD:
Sometimes I would just wake up screaming in
agony as I relived the moment where my right arm was ripped from my body by an
Iranian shape charge. (I may not know
what childbirth feels like, but I know what it's like to go an hour with my arm
ripped off without painkillers (I'm allergic to morphine).) [snip] That's what fucking PTSD is like.
At no point in time have I ever felt the desire or need to grab a weapon
and go shoot someone or something up. At
no point in time have I ever grabbed a weapon and broken a law because I felt
the need to protect myself. PTSD urges
you mitigate the risk of events that happened in your life. But if you've never had anything traumatic
happen in your life, you can't fucking have PTSD.
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I hope and believe that his monumental faux pas was a real "shot out" to many of his true believers about how he really is. Cold, narcissistic (sp?) and totally out of touch with Americans. I cannot imagine any other president in my lifetime not addressing the massacre before any other thing.
As for the PTSD, shameful, shame on everyone who even thinks that would be his problem. My son-in-law was in Vietnam and he is totally disabled with PTSD and the whole family has been adversely affected by it.
And for TT who reads this too, you don't have to comment, Mama already did. ;D
Posted by: Ruth H at November 08, 2009 02:15 PM (CvvEA)
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The "winner" thing about spun my head around again when I had recovered from my shock at his off-shrugging of the Ft Hood terrorist attack. Semantics? Not in this case, by any means. You win something you work hard for and towards, something you deliberately aim yourself at. You are awarded a MoH, and the fact that the President doesn't recognize this gives me chills. Cold chills.
But then, there's that whole Nobel Prize thing... I guess if you get a Nobel Prize for doing nothing, you view other things through that lens as well.
Posted by: airforcewife at November 08, 2009 04:05 PM (uE3SA)
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I'm seriously dumbfounded at his lack of empathy. And absolutely disgusted that he doesn't even have the basic knowledge to know that the CMOH is usually awarded posthumously. Did the White House fire the protocal person to save money or something? I find it hard to believe he would purposely be this much of a dumbass.
Posted by: Mare at November 09, 2009 09:06 AM (HUa8I)
The medal is approved by the respective secretaries of the service that awards it, and it is awarded by the President. Congress only authorized the issuing of the medal in general. They passed a resolution creating the medal, and take no part in awarding it. Calling it "the congressional medal..." is only correct if every other medal awarded by the services is also called "the congressional medal of X" as in the congressional army achievement medal" as congress has to approve the creation of all awards.
It is the Medal of Honor, it is awarded, not won. It was awarded much more often prior to the Spanish American War, as it was then the ONLY medal the military had to recognize valor.
Posted by: Chuck Z at November 11, 2009 08:01 PM (bMH2g)
SPEAKING OF STEYN
Speaking of Mark Steyn (and I always like speaking of Mark Steyn):
And his superior officers and other authorities knew
about his beliefs but seemed to think it was just a bit of harmless
multicultural diversity — as if believing that “the Muslims should
stand up and fight against the aggressor†(i.e., his fellow American
soldiers) and writing Internet paeans to the “noble†“heroism†of
suicide bombers and, indeed, objectively supporting the other side in an active war is to be regarded as just some kind of alternative lifestyle that adds to the general vibrancy of the base.
Incredible, especially when you consider
that the only Muslims killed in the USA on 9/11 and in Britain on 7/7
were killed by Muslims.
Muslims may have as much to fear from
radical Muslims as any other American, Briton or Canadian... I'm rather
sick of the MSM interrupting our grieving to tell us that, to add
Muslims' insults to a Muslim's murderous injury, they suspect us of
wanting to attack their mosques now, even though we didn't the last ten
times a Muslim killed innocent people in the name of Islam. What are
they scared of? Grafitti?
That first sentence is worth bearing in mind when mendacious lobby
groups such as CAIR trot out their "fears" for Muslim safety. Muslims
died in the World Trade Center, the London Underground, the Bali
nightclub attacks, the Istanbul bank bombings, in Iraqi shopping
markets targeted by insurgents. The death toll of Muslims killed by
Muslims in any one year is staggering. Jihadists are very indifferent
to murdering their coreligionists and have been since the Grand Mufti
staged his uprising in Mandatory Palestine and wound up slaughtering
more Muslims than Jews or Britons.
After my comparative body count in my "fear for Muslims" post last
night - non-Muslims 13, Muslims 0 - a snotty liberal wrote to wonder
sneeringly how I knew the dead at Fort Hood were all non-Muslims. He
thinks he's refuting my point but in fact he's making it for me: The
soi-disant "moderate Muslim" has far more to fear from a coreligionist
boarding the subway train yelling "Allahu akbar!" than he does from the
allegedly "Islamophobic" Americans forever on the brink of
"backlash". That our media cannot see what the commenter above sees is,
even in a relativist age, a very advanced stage of decadence.
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LIVING THE HIGH LIFE, ON OUR DIME
Mark Steyn would be happy: Uighurs are back in the news! At Powerline:
It's hard to know what to make of this, apart from the fact that the
world is a weird place, and getting weirder all the time. I'm fine with
resettling the Uighurs, but is it really necessary for U.S. taxpayers
to fund "spotless hardwood floors, a fresh coat of paint, new furniture
and appliances, and a sweeping view of the ocean"? Not to mention
housing, job training, food, and all other living expenses, including
air conditioning, cable television and high-speed internet, which is a
"rarity" in Palau. If the administration is looking for volunteers to
live at government expense in an island paradise, count me in.
No doubt these expenses are a drop in the bucket compared to the
trillions that the Obama administration is wasting here at home. But
could it be any clearer that we are living under a government that
treats our tax money--which is to say, our work; our time; our
lives--with contempt?
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A triumphant Speaker Nancy Pelosi likened the legislation to the passage of Social Security in 1935 and Medicare 30 years later.
"It provides coverage for 96 percent of Americans. It offers everyone,
regardless of health or income, the peace of mind that comes from
knowing they will have access to affordable health care when they need
it," said Rep. John Dingell
And like those other two things that passed, it will eventually end up costing far more money than ever expected and will be the downfall of the US.
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Is there a black ribbon we can wear or something? I'm so disgusted with our gov't, and apparently a 'mean, uncaring person' according to at least one person for not thinking this is the best piece of legislation ever passed.
Posted by: Mare at November 08, 2009 08:55 AM (HUa8I)
YES, WE'RE SERIOUS
Nothing burns me up more than politicians' contempt for people who want to adhere to the original constraints of our founding document.
Her sneering at the question makes me so mad I could scream.
A comment at youtube:
It has literally never occurred to any true Liberal Democrat that their policies should be in any way constrained by the U.S. Constitution.
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TEASING IN THE MILITARY
I am not in the Army. You can take this post with a grain of salt if you like. Or correct me if you think I'm off base. But something about the Hasan shooting has been bugging me to no end.
[Question from] Rockville, Md.: Dear Mr. Kenniff, As the wife of a former
military officer, it strikes me as odd that the shooter, who was a
major in the Army, claimed that he was being harassed for his religious
beliefs. While some types of harassment and teasing (which could be
serious or not) are surely not uncommon among enlisted men and women,
it is harder to envision it happening in the officer ranks. Enlisted
soldiers would know not to harass an officer and it is difficult to
envision this individual being "made fun of" (the term I saw in the
newspaper) by other officers. This seems inconsistent with the norms in
that professional context. What is your sense of this claim? Thanks.
Thomas Kenniff: I couldn't agree more and that was one of the
points I tried to make on Larry King last night, as Dr. Phil dronned on
about PTSD. This is a person who out ranked 95% of the military, and
occupied a position of prestige both in the military and as a civilian.
Doctors are treated like gold in the Army.
My experience with this is limited, but it runs counter to these two people's experiences. I think perhaps it might have to do with the fact that JAG and the medical corps are a little different from, say, combat arms. I imagine there's less foul-mouthed insults being hurled in the hospital than there are in my husband's corridor.
Yes, I very seriously doubt that some PFC walked up to MAJ Hasan in the hospital and started ragging on him for being a Muslim. Not likely. But to say that officers are above teasing and making fun of folks? My husband apparently doesn't live on the same planet as this lady's husband did.
Officers are human beings. Human beings, in an in-group setting, tease each other. Especially males. About anything and everything that can be used for fodder. Off the top of my head, I know my husband has been made fun of for a variety of things: his beard, his car, his larger-than-average head, his use of big vocabulary words, his lack of tattoos, his never-heard-of-it alma mater, and yes, even just the mere fact of being an officer is grounds for teasing at times (because officers go home and roll around in their big money piles like Scrooge McDuck, you know). And in his current career field, where no one uses rank and everyone gets called by first names, the enlisted soldiers get plenty of cracks in at him. No one is exempt, not the First Sergeant, not the commander, no one. (And Lord help you if you are a female in this career field. You have to have very thick skin.)
I've seen officers tease on ethnicity. A few years ago, my husband invited some other lieutenants over to the house and then told a Chinese-American lieutenant, "But you can't come, you'll oppress my Tibetan dog." The guy laughed and thought that was pretty clever, saying that he usually just gets accused of wanting to eat people's dogs.
I really doubt that Hasan was directly teased about being a Muslim. He might've been if he had gotten close enough to other guys in his unit where they felt comfortable ribbing him, but my guess is that enough people felt Hasan was a bit off and didn't think it'd be wise to poke fun at him. My husband served with one such Muslim before, and everyone was careful to give this guy some space.
I think what's more likely is that Hasan heard indirect comments against Muslims in general and took it personally. In treating soldiers' mental states, he might've heard them say generic things about how they don't get Islam, or they don't like haji, or whatever. And Hasan took it personally. I would bet that a closeted homosexual deals with the same thing in the military. Same as a non-vocal atheist. They would be surrounded by casual conversation against their lifestyle, and I'm sure that's not easy to swallow over and over. I am guessing that's what Hasan meant by saying he felt harassed or made fun of. He heard anti-Muslim comments just by being in the military and took them to heart. Understandable, but quite different from being openly mocked for being a Muslim himself.
I think all this shock that an officer killed these people is a bit ridiculous. Officers are people too. Some of them are jerks. Some of them are ignorant or immature. Some of them are malicious and messed up in the head. They're not somehow above murder just because of their rank.
And they're not above joking and teasing either.
Come on, you really think Chuck Z conducts himself at all times like a complete gentleman? I bet he can let an off-color insult rip like no one's business...
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I'm not in the military, but apparently I do live "on the same planet as this lady's husband did." It is possible for men to work together without resorting to "teasing." So I think
Human beings, in an in-group setting, tease each other. Especially males.
is too broad a generalization, though I believe you are accurately describing your husband's situation. Was it Hasan's situation? Is Kenniff just covering up the truth to preserve the military's image for a civilian audience?
Let's suppose the scenario you described is correct:
I think what's more likely is that Hasan heard indirect comments against Muslims in general and took it personally.
That does sound likely to me. My question is: How many nonwhites, women, homosexuals, et al. in the military hear such comments and react the way Hasan did? My guess is zero. If such people had gone berserk, the media would have lectured us about it. If the military is full of "teasing," how can it promote those who can't take it? Such sensitivity is anything but "Army Strong."
Posted by: Amritas at November 07, 2009 02:45 PM (G4Rx6)
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I totally agree with this. I had a [short] conversation on Facebook with a friend and her sister (I think), because they were both expressing concern over the fact that "everyone" was making a big deal over his being a Muslim or of Middle Eastern descent, when it was the harassment that drove him to kill. Besides, there are "plenty" of Muslims in this country who don't kill people (like that matters, for some reason), and [apparently] the news media "never" makes a big deal when a "radical Christian" commits this kind of act (which, according to her, happens all the time).
I told her I didn't care if he was the freakin' Pope – he targeted innocent people and killed them in rage. In addition to that, he has a body of evidence pointing to the fact that he is, in fact, a radical Muslim who took very seriously the parts of the Koran that encourage jihad. It doesn't matter if other Muslims are denying having anything to do with him – he doesn't have to be part of a sleeper cell to commit jihad. Neither does "harassment" make a good excuse for mowing down forty people (whose lives he had supposedly sworn to protect, in more ways than one) – it doesn't make him a victim, it makes him a heinous murderer, and we shouldn't ignore that just because he had his feelings hurt.
I haven't gotten a reply yet.
It's really REALLY bugging the heck out of me that people are totally willing to forgive him, because "he's a VIIIIICTIM!"
Poor, poor terrorist. The evil Americans are SOOO mean to you. It doesn't matter that you're an adult with the choice to suck it up/grow a pair/turn the other cheek – OBVIOUSLY killing is the only solution, and we should feel sorry for you.
GRRR. >
Posted by: Deltasierra at November 07, 2009 02:57 PM (/Mv9b)
Very astute observation towards the end. Perhaps in other occupations the teasing isn't so intense. My personal experience being the only female in an entirely male, oil and gas company was that they interacted entirely on the basis of giving each other a hard time. Always.
Mark being infantry is always being teased. I don't need to go into details but it's over everything. And they like it. It's how they bond, I guess. And more so, the teasing gets bad if they don't respect or truely hate a fellow officer. If they outrank him, it happens behind the guy's back but it probably circles back to him anyhow.
What's astute is that as the listener, he probably heard the honest opinion of many soldiers regarding the muslim religion. And your comparisons are right on. I'm on your side with this.
Posted by: Sara at November 07, 2009 10:02 PM (MYUXb)
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I hadn't read that sort of commentary, and I'm glad, although I think I'll pass it along for my husband the boat wardroom to read. If they're not supposed to be teasing and harassing each other, they missed that memo, bigtime. Of course, they're sub guys...
Posted by: Tara at November 07, 2009 10:07 PM (BuzKj)
I have never, ever, conducted myself otherwise, despite rumors of my wearing a banana hammock around the pool at the vegas hilton, or shouting "hooker" in a vegas bar until an "independent contractor" appeared, or calling her later with a group of other nefarious types and asking if she had a clown suit, or putting fly bait in my 1SGs HMMWV, or telling a buddy that the rattling sound his new mini van made was the sound of his nuts rolling around in the ash tray.
For that matter, I'd never sell a t-shirt that says "my imaginary friend can beat up your imaginary friend." I'd never tell the lab tech who commented on the color of my pee that "It tasted fine to me" or ask for a magazine when given a (urine) specimen cup, and mention it may take a while if they want it filled. I'd never say "the jews" every time someone asks who is responsible for anything. I'd never, ever make fun of someone for being retarded, but I might call someone a retard when they are acting retarded.
I would never make fun of someone because of their gender, or mention that female paratroopers should wear jockstraps so they don't whistle on the way down. I'd never say that female west pointers don't wear skirts because their balls hang out.
I would never make fun of someone for being a member of the religion of peas, because if they don't want to eat meat, that's their choice.
I would never make someone I didn't know feel uncomfortable by telling them racist jokes on an elevator, while they stood right next to a black friend of mine, who tried to look angry without cracking up.
Nope. Not me.
Posted by: Chuck Z at November 08, 2009 01:47 AM (bMH2g)
Posted by: Sarah at November 08, 2009 08:20 AM (gWUle)
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Dick and I talked about this, he said... "I just made fun of 2 people yesterday for being from Iowa"...
My Husband also gets made fun of for having an abnormally large head...
Posted by: awtm at November 08, 2009 09:01 AM (ZU1VI)
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It's not so much that I'm surprised that an officer is human. That teasing happens and that someone of that rank could be 'evil.' My surprise at hearing that he was a Major has more to do with the question: How did someone who seemed to have a vendetta against the nation he was serving fly under the radar that long? That is what shakes me and shocks me about his rank.
Posted by: Val at November 08, 2009 08:41 PM (5btL/)
I would have to disagree about the "Officers are people, too."
Yes, they are. But officers are in charge, and, as an enlisted, we take an oath to obey orders of officers appointed over us. Just as improper it is to cheat on your wife, it's that much MORE improper to have some oral sex in the oval office.
Definitely held to a higher standard. Sorry....
Posted by: allicadem at November 09, 2009 10:35 PM (Iu+5p)
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Held to a higher accountability, yes; to a higher standard, shouldn't be. You wear a uniform just like I do and I have the same expectations of your actions as I do of my own and my peers.
Posted by: Tracy at November 11, 2009 12:58 AM (z1v+g)
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Same difference, really. Accountability could equal Standard. Officers are saluted and we obey. I expect higher from my officers than I do from any dude off the street. Period.
Posted by: allicadem at November 14, 2009 10:30 AM (Iu+5p)
VALOUR-IT 2009
I haven't mentioned the Valour-IT fundraiser yet because I figured the big push would be at the beginning and I'd post a reminder more towards the end of the drive.
Read about the origins of Valour-IT, as written by Chuck Z's wife.
UNFATHOMABLE
All I keep imagining is my husband being murdered while preparing to deploy, either getting his power of attorney or his flu shot or whatever they do before they leave.
It makes me sick.
I have long been confused by the irony that military installations are gun-free zones. Every person in that readiness center could've shot back. Every soldier is trained, and I'd bet many of their wives are decent marksmen too. And yet Hasan was the only one with a gun.
Guns. And time to reload.
Awful.
And a mental health specialist. Unfathomable.
UPDATE:
It sounds like he's still alive. Good. He doesn't deserve to die before facing the horror he inflicted. Try him, and then fry him.
And I hope it hurts his feelings that he was shot by a girl.
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It makes me sick too.
I said the same thing to my mother on the phone tonight--if any of the other people in that SRP center had been armed, you can bet Hasan wouldn't have been able to do as much damage as he did.
So. very. sad.
Posted by: Lucy at November 05, 2009 08:57 PM (YNvUz)
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It's infuriating, but this will be used as a reason to keep them unarmed on bases.
Posted by: Mob at November 05, 2009 09:41 PM (e/sow)
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IDF are always armed. And they live in the general population of the country.
Why are we different? I don't know. I just don't. It's a stupid, stupid rule.
Posted by: airforcewife at November 05, 2009 09:47 PM (uE3SA)
Continuing to pray and hold good thoughts for the families at Ft. Hood and those who love them.
Posted by: Guard Wife at November 05, 2009 11:25 PM (p4/8e)
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I also hope it hurt his feelings that he was shot by a woman. My heart hurts for the Fort Hood family and all the relatives of the dead and wounded. My head hurts from trying to take in the reality of such actions.
Posted by: Pamela at November 06, 2009 12:42 AM (k95zf)
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"I have long been confused by the irony that military installations are gun-free zones."
Me too. In Israel he never would have gotten that far; your weapon is considered part of your uniform. If you are caught in uniform without your weapon you go to jail.
Posted by: David Boxenhorn at November 06, 2009 06:34 AM (OE8Ib)
Yeah, it might just be the Texan in me coming out but I was happy that man didn't die. I want him to talk so we can end the speculation. And when they finally do fry him, I hope it hurts. An easy death was too good for the bastard.
One news article said he was "mortified that he had to deploy". Mortified huh? I have a couple of choice words for that.
Posted by: Sara at November 06, 2009 01:08 PM (vK+Aj)
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The sorrow I feel for the friends, family and co-workers is too deep to put into words.
Posted by: Lemon Stand at November 06, 2009 01:57 PM (HvJdb)
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A lot of the early radio commentary up here (Seattle area) was of the opinion that it couldn't possibly have been a terror plot because only a moron would attack a military base where everyone is driving around in armored vehicles and carrying machine guns.
To me, that's a big illustration that the general public just has no clue whatsoever about what we do and the conditions under which we do it. It just about takes an act of Congress to get a weapon, a soldier, and a bullet in the same room. Most bases are designated target zones. And given the security that I used to see every morning on the way in to Fort Lewis during peak PT hours (i.e. hold up an ID-card shaped object, get waved through the gate; this went on for months), I feel safer living in the community.
Sig
Posted by: Sig at November 11, 2009 11:46 AM (D4fxj)
DID HE WANT TO WIN OR LEAD?
I've heard and read many discussions on whether Pres Obama has got us in this handbasket on purpose or on accident. But I think this is an interesting twist to the question:
Jim Vicevich at the link thinks that Obama has a core set of
principles that run to the hard Left, but has kept them hidden thus
far. Why? Jim argues that Obama couldn’t get elected on those
principles, and so he has kept them hidden while pushing them through
his legislative agenda.
Actually, I think Todd is closer to it. Obama wanted to be
President, not to lead, but just to win. Now that he has won, he has
no core set of governing principles other than what impacts Barack
Obama. He has offered no leadership on any part of his agenda all year
long, content to have Nancy Pelosi run it for him. His foreign policy
thus far consists entirely of making himself personally popular with
the world. On Afghanistan, Obama has thus far allowed Robert Gates and
David Petraeus to make his decisions, only balking at the moment
because the McChrystal strategy puts him at odds with his base, which
could erode his popularity.
Does Barack Obama have deeply-held principles that he wanted to apply to the country, or did he just want to be president?
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The absurd part is that one year in we have no idea what the answer to that question is! My impression so far is that he thinks it's good to be king.
If he had been serious about achieving any of his goals, he'd have had plans ready to go. I mean, if you've been working your whole adult life to be in charge and change things - wouldn't you have a blueprint in your head of how to do it once you're actually in charge. Hell, I've got blueprints and I'll never be in charge!
Posted by: Beth at November 05, 2009 10:42 AM (ZT9NN)
SAY WHAT YOU MEAN AND MEAN WHAT YOU SAY
This is fantastic: Daily Kos sounds just like Glenn Beck.
Tonight proved conclusively that we're not going to turn out just
because you have a (D) next to your name, or because Obama tells us to.
We'll turn out if we feel it's worth our time and effort to vote, and
we'll work hard to make sure others turn out if you inspire us with
bold and decisive action.
The choice is yours. Give us a reason to vote for you, or we sit home.
Read the whole thing. I promise I am not being snarky. I think this is great. I want both parties to say what they mean and mean what they say. I hate how everyone runs as a moderate and tries to tweak their message so it doesn't offend anyone. Or conversely, when they pretend to have principles and then get in office and abandon all their promises. I want both parties to stand for different principles and then voters can decide which one they align with, not this election trickery where they all try to out-center each other.
I am 100% certain that I don't agree with Markos on any of the issues that he brings up: "health care, financial services, energy policy and immigration reform." But he wants a candidate who represents his views and doesn't just pretend to represent them in order to get elected. I completely agree with this.
Wouldn't it be nice if both parties stopped hiding who they really are and started standing for principles?
Imagine if we really had two distinct choices on election day...
Posted by: Sarah at
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I DON'T GET IT
Personally, I think many people in our country are just plain goofy. When Republicans are in office, they want Democrats. When Democrats are in, they want Republicans. Look at the Rasmussen generic ballot poll. Last year, people couldn't wait to have a Dem. Now they're itchin' for an R. Is politics just a large-scale case of 'the grass is always greener'? What happened to voting on your principles?
I mean, a good number of these people in Virginia had to have voted for Pres Obama and then now voted for the Republican governor. That does not make sense.
I don't get it.
I think Krauthammer makes a good point about the 2008 election:
It tells you that '08
was a charisma election, a one-shot deal, and all this talk about
realignment, about a new era, of the death of Republicanism or
conservatism is utter nonsense.
It was an unusual
election last year. All the stars were aligned Democratic, charismatic
candidate. Still only a seven point victory. The return to the norm is
happening now, and we're going to see it tomorrow night.
I just don't understand voting on charisma, period. Vote your principles.
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"I just don't understand voting on charisma, period. Vote your principles."
Ah, and therein lies the rub. I daresay the people who were expecting Obama to pay their mortgage & gas up their car as well as those as recently as a few weeks ago who were waiting on their "Obama money" either 1) voted their principles (gimme, gimme, gimme b/c I'm entitled) or 2) don't have principles.
Either way, this will go down in the history books as the example of "elections have consequences." I just hope that we can stop the mess before our kids also have to point to our pre-'08 life in the States and say, "this is how the United States was before it went to hell in a handbasket."
Posted by: Guard Wife at November 04, 2009 08:49 AM (p4/8e)
I think a lot of voter decisions work as follows: If I'm happy with the way things are going, I vote for the incumbent. If I'm not, I vote to throw him out.
Posted by: david foster at November 04, 2009 09:20 AM (uWlpq)
Noor Almaleki, whom I wrote about over the weekend, has died, the latest Western victim of a Muslim honor killing. If there were a Matthew Shepard murder every few months, Frank Rich et al would be going bananas about the "climate of hate" in our society, but you can run over your daughter, decapitate your wife, drown three teenage girls and a polygamous spouse, and progressive opinion and the press couldn't give a hoot. Indeed, as The Atlantic notes, it's merely an obsession of us right-wing kooks.
If you live in the United States, you are FAR more likely to be gay or be close to someone who is gay than you are to be close to someone who would engage in a Muslim Honor Killing (please read that slowly or it will sound like I'm saying something I'm not actually saying - *snort*).
Each "hate crime" death is more personal, because it hits close to home. Thus there is more of an impetus for SOMETHING TO BE DONE!!! And usually THINK ABOUT THE CHILDREN is put in there somewhere, generally by Rosie O'Donnell.
Posted by: airforcewife at November 04, 2009 11:55 AM (uE3SA)
RESTORING ZELAYA
I think if I had to choose the most appalling thing Pres Obama has done since taking office, his insistence on the restoration of Manuel Zelaya would have to be it. It sickens me.
The essential elements of the agreement had largely been worked out months ago by other Latin American leaders. If Congress agrees, Mr. Zelaya will serve out the remaining three months of his term, and the presidential election scheduled for Nov. 29 will be recognized by all sides.
Mr. Zelaya and Mr. Micheletti, both members of the Liberal Party, are not candidates.
Some significant obstacles remain, not least of which is the approval of the nation’s Congress, which voted overwhelmingly to strip Mr. Zelaya of power four months ago and now has to decide whether to reinstate him.
“That is going to be the issue that is most provocative internally,†said Assistant Secretary of State Thomas A. Shannon Jr., who led the American delegation, “and probably where we in the international community are going to have to pay the closest attention.â€
I hope the Honduran Congress sticks to their guns.
Can you imagine if in 2000, European countries had gotten together and decided that, despite the constitutionality of Bush's victory, Al Gore should've been the rightful president? And cut off aid and visas to Americans? (OK, aid doesn't really work as well, but for argument's sake.) I mean really, can you imagine if the rest of the world told us that, our Constitution be damned, we had to do what they all said?
I love this sentence, about the immediate aftermath of Zelaya's booting:
Latin American countries, concerned about the precedent the coup had set in a region where democracy remained fragile, criticized the United States for sending mixed signals to Honduras.
Yes, I'm sure they did. Places like Venezuela would definitely be concerned about the precedent of following the rule of law.
Really, I think this is the most disgusting thing the Obama administration has done.
From the comments:
I wonder: If the people of Zimbabwe managed to throw out Mugabe, would
the US also demand he be put back in power simply because it was a
"coup"?
Posted by: Sarah at
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"Her inner voice became her outer voice," Martha Raddatz,
a veteran NBC correspondent said on the network, explaining that while many in
the administration believed what she said to be true (that Pakistan is coddling
terrorists), it was rare for America's top diplomat to say it publicly.
Officials in Washington were trying to keep a straight face, but there were a
few gasps, she added.
Clinton's blunt remarks came during a pow-wow
with half-dozen combative senior Pakistani journalists who harried her about US
policy in the region.
"Al-Qaida has had safe haven in Pakistan since
2002," she finally asserted when challenged about Washington’s tough
prescriptions for Islamabad. "I find it hard to believe that nobody in your
government knows where they are and couldn't get them if they really wanted to."
After having publicly doubted the bona fides of her hosts, she
added, as an afterthought: "Maybe that's the case; maybe they're not
gettable...I don't know. As far as we know, they are in Pakistan." At one point
during the exchanges, when a journalist spoke about all the services rendered by
Pakistan for the US, Mrs Clinton snapped, "We have also given you
billions."
Sarah - I am sorry for leaving this request on your comments but I don't have your email address (I think I used too?!). I was wondering if I could commission you to make a few hats? My cousin's good friend's daughter (who is 16 months) has been diagnosed w/cancer and is losing her hair due to her treatment. I wanted to see if I could talk to you about making a few hats
Thanks, Keri
Posted by: Keri at November 01, 2009 08:51 PM (dtvJC)
OTOH...also while in Pakistan, Hillary blamed the lack of peace between Israel and the Palestinians on George Bush:
"I think that, look, we all know that the Israeli-Palestinian issue is one that is a very serious and difficult problem that we are working hard also to try to resolve. We inherited a lot of problems. If you remember, when my husband left office, we were very close to an agreement because he worked on it all the time. The next administration did not make it a priority and did not really do much until toward the end. And unfortunately, we are trying to make up for some lost time, in my opinion."
Not only does this demonstrate this administration's utter lack of class and executive strength, it undercuts the assignment of responsibility for the conflict to the place it actually belongs--the death-cult leadership of the Palestinians.
Posted by: david foster at November 01, 2009 08:51 PM (uWlpq)
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are usually just cheerleading sessions, full of sound and fury and signifying nothing but a soothing reduction in blood pressure brought about by the narcotic high of being agreed with. --Bill Whittle
War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself.
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You can say what you want about President Bush; but the truth is that he can take a punch. The man has taken a swift kick in the crotch for breakfast every day for 6 years and he keeps getting up with a smile in his heart and a sense of swift determination to see the job through to the best of his abilties.
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. So it's neat that you also read it on a plane. At the time, Obama's election was still fresh on my mind and the book made me cry. I've had the book by my side for the last year, and I may reread it when I board a plane next month.
