Thursday, September 29, 2005

My Shame!


When I heard and read on the MSM about all the violence and rampant killing and rapes in the superdome and convention center it did not ring true to me.
I am truly ashamed that I did not speak up!

I believed that there MIGHT be 10,000 dead from the flooding, but did not question it. It WAS possible, though it didnt make sense even considering what I saw and know.

And I believed that the death toll in the two evac centers might be very high... but I could NOT believe all those accounts of savagery from word of mouth to correspondents which was then relayed to the world really happened based on what I knew of human nature.

But I said nothing in protest. I never went on record as NOT believing it!

Granted, i have been to NO only twice.. and I knew that the cops there have real problems and that certain neighborhoods are not safe anytime.
BUT
Due to my age and interest in not only the news but human nature and why people might do what they do and when might they do it... I should have really known better.

These rumors of mayhem did not reflect what I KNEW happened previously in times of urban crisis. But I passively accepted that they MIGHT be true.

Knowledge of human nature tells me that the vast majority of people, no matter their daily attitudes and indiscretions.. even to the point of murderers rapists and thieves... will support others in time of crisis.

Looting of electronics and jewelry stores doesnt count... that is fallibility, greed or just 'business'.

But for those same people to set on the weaker of the other victims is beyond belief.

But I said nothing. And I am ashamed of that.

How about you?

Monday, September 26, 2005

The NFL, The Great Society, Byron Leftwich and Condi Rice...

Ah, I love the parallels of Sport to Life!

Randall Cunningham, Dennis Green - Affirmative Action; certainly both were competent but always at the backs of their minds..... were they REALLY top shelf or did they just get the chance, because...

Byron Leftwich, Marvin Lewis - Equal Opportunity

Now bear with me here...

I picked Leftwich because there's no one who watches the game that would put him in the mold of Cunningham or Vick or Donovan McNabb.

Racking my brain for a comparison, the closest I come is Doug Flutie.
I AM NOT saying that Leftwich doesnt owe his chances to Cunningham's pioneering efforts... what I am SAYING is that Randall may have got where he got, partially by affirmative action but NO ONE drafted Leftwich with that even remotely in mind.
And you'd have to consider, also, that he sure doesnt match up to the black QB stereotype. He's judged on his abilities to read defenses and his durability alone.

And he owes his chances more to Chad Pennington's success than he does Cunningham's.

Now we come to Marvin Lewis...
Go to a library in Cincinnati and read up on the recent history of both the Bengals and the city, itself.

If you are at ALL a fan of the NFL, you dont need reminded of the hate, distrust and contempt of the Bengals fan toward the Bengals FO management which consists mainly of the Brown offspring. This began when Sam Wyche was let go because he was threatening to Mike Brown's authority to run the team.
While Brown WANTED the team to be successful, he thought he could do it by the book. In doing so, he forgot about the mistakes of his father when he retired from coaching the team.

About the city... all the non-Ohioan hears about race and the city is that there seems to be a constant bickering, sometimes blooming to near warfare of the white and black populations.

And certainly, the rabid white Bengals fan would have to be counted among the bigoted troglodytic faction.. wouldnt he?

Why, then, would these bohunks cheer when they heard the news that Marvin Lewis was being considered as the new head coach and the hope of turning the team around? I mean LOOK at him! He's BLACK!

In my conversations with other Bengals fans, many of those that DIDNT especially favor Lewis brought up a candidate they thought was a better choice, and was available.. and THAT person was - gasp- Dennis Green!

But Marvin Lewis WAS hired.. and as we Bengals Exiles hoped and prayed he would.. he insisted on, and was given, unparalleled {for the Bengals} control of the team. ESPECIALLY considering he had never been an NFL head coach.

But we didnt want him because he was black.. we didnt want Green because he was black.

Some wanted Green because he had much of the traits of Forrest Gregg; but Green has a problem... he -rightfully- believes that he's getting most interviews because he's black and has a chip on his shoulder because of that. While, in reality, when he's not hired it's because he's like Forrest Gregg. But how is Green to know which is the case?

Lewis, on the other hand, owes much to Green's pioneering efforts but his head is clear of those niggling doubts. He was hired because of his abilities and promise, his skin color was not a factor.
Unless you want to propose that he was only STILL untried because of it.

Well, he has done it.. he has turned the franchise around... and he hasnt done that by 'being black' he has done it because he is a natural leader and innovator and knows his football and how to manage his players.

And his assistants and players will know that their selection is based purely on merit not their color. The fans know that too.

Which brings us to the point: while Affirmative Action had its day and needed to be tried to prove the points it did, its day - like that of integration by bussing- is OVER.

Those that come behind, whether they be athletes or lawyers or teachers or administrators NEED the peace of mind in knowing they got where they did SOLELY on their own.

Affirmative Action WAS a good thing, continuing it makes it a failure in what it was meant to accomplish.

And THAT, gentle folk, explains Condi Rice and Janice Rogers Brown and JC Watts... and explains why the more the Al Sharptons, Jesse Jesse Jacksons and that mouth-foaming mad dog who's heading the New Panthers spout their drivel, the more black voters come over to the Republican/Conservative side.

And the more the Libs claim that Bush black appointees are turncoats and only there as mouthpieces.. the MORE thinking white liberals will turn away in disgust.

Denial and diatribe only extends so far, before it becomes buffoonery.

And speaking of FORMER buffoons, the BENGALS ARE BACK!

Saturday, September 24, 2005

Chinese web-bots are downloading Little Green Footballs' site
And presumably others, as well.

The commenters dont all seem to grasp the total significance of the activities... which is, I think, "Better know the resistance" But that is just the latest in a long line of interesting facts, not the least of which is technology transfer through Clinton political Campaign contributions... but it didnt start there.

Check out the number of Chinese students and technical types just in Columbus... there's some with small tech companies with contracts to Battelle and OSU ... research type think tanks.

Truly some who must have ties to Red Army, Inc.
And I know for a fact, that the FBI is well aware... (tho how much GOOD that does is suspect)
The BRIGHT side is, however, found in the old song..."How you gonna keep 'em down on the farm...."

It's the same as my opinion on the stupid Castro embargoes... either our system can compete with any other or it cant.

I'm QUITE sure it can.

And to those Chinese info-analysts:
While they are financing our lower cost of living, with QUALITY goods (sorry to those who think otherwise but I've been around a long time)...
We are financing a slow peaceful revolution in Mao-Land by buying them.

Have fun with THAT Concept, Comrades!

Thursday, September 22, 2005

Breaking News:

Greenpeace and Sierra Club policy wonks are scrambling to find a connection between the Mars Rovers and Big Oil, Halliburton and the Bush Administration after it was revealed that Martian ice caps are rapidly melting.. apparently due to global warming.

When it was suggested that increased solar activity might be the cause of the phenomenon on both planets, activist Barba Streisand exclaimed: "Dont be an ass.. you know how far away Mars is from here?"

Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton and New Black Panther Party leader Attorney Malik Zulu Shabazz suggested it was a Bush plot to kill indigenous Martians.

Meanwhile, commenters on Markos Zuniga's Blog DailyKos are suggesting a CIA plot to siphon off the CO2 polar caps from Mars to Earth in order to hasten the economic disruptions already in the works for Cuba and Venezuela.

Cindy Sheehan, after consulting with interstellar statesman Ramsey Clark, demanded an immediate end to the occupation of Mars, in addition to Iraq and New Orleans.

Monday, September 19, 2005

Busting the costs of Katrina with Pork

Good idea at Truth laid Bear

However: note that there's some sloppiness in the lists. As well as no criteria for posting the pork; identification of posters and commenters is optional.

Not a good idea, IMO!
- - - - - - - - - - -
Note that a goodly number of these pork rinds are put in to address either "Quality of Life" or public transportation issues.

Meaning... if they dont work now, there's some shortcomings in the 'business case'.. or dont we believe in those?

Packard Museum? Who CARES! If it's REALLY necessary to go back and muse over a well-built reliable car that couldnt compete with the best-selling models.. then levy a surcharge on Honda, Toyota et al. It's THEM that benefitted, long term, over Packard's demise.

Bay area Ferry boat industry. Is it viable? If the boat was GIVEN to a private concern to run, would it pay? No? then.....

National rail and local roadbed - Note that the Interstate highway program KILLED the rail industry. Either get the funds from trucking companies or nationalize roadbed and run it like the interstate. Technology NOW allows by-car fees for roadbed use. As well as automated car-switching for "just-in-time" mfrs. No excuse for a loaded freight car to take 4 days to move acroos the US.

Friday, September 16, 2005

Sheehan Road Trip Report
She spoke at N.C. State's McKimmon Center about her push to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq. Dozens of people attended.

Sheehan bus pulled onto the N.C. State University campus in Raleigh for a rally earlier Thursday. Sheehan also attended a rally in Moore Square in downtown Raleigh. Sheehan's tour will take her to Fayetteville on Friday and Durham on Saturday.

- Raleigh ABC affiliate

Hmmm.. if they each chipped in 5 bucks, the tour would be self-supporting - for the fuel, anyway.

In Albany NY; Several hundred people gathered to watch the vigil and rally, which coincided with lunch for many of the state workers.
- Didnt say how many were just waiting for the bus.
Of course Cindy wasnt there, she was supposedly with a group helping out Katrina victims.. where she supposedly got a first hand look at the "fascist occupation forces" that Bush had sent in.

Brighter news for her tour.. in Madison WI, the protest drew 800. Of course, that's Madison.
UPDATE

John Hinderaker at PowerLine has Sheehan's merry little group nailed for what they are..

Was it Marx or Lenin that called them "Useful Idiots"?
The last thing anyone might need is yet another blogger... that's what you or any other sane person would say when you come across this.

Well, I've been doing it a while... just not on a conventional blogging site. I've been most active at matchnight.com and FulhamUSA.com.
Yeah, I'm a soccer junkie...everyone has a vice

If you sample those posts, I may look like the typical conservative cauc male. I suppose so... though my take on things is more in the realm of the opinion you might find on PowerLine or Michelle Malkin

In my sixty plus years of absorbing and analyzing the foolishness around me and sifting out the idiocy of politics and the media I've come to respect the need for common sense, all too often not conveyed in either the media or the halls of congress..

Here are my current pet peeves:

Media Playing to "the masses" - this is what we see almost uniformly on the news channels.. and it doesnt matter if it's CBS or FoxNews. Take all the BIG ratings guys, and you'll see it. Doesnt matter if it's Hannity or CBSMorning, you'll come away with that certain empty feeling that you've been 'spun'. Of course, Fox's Geraldo.. acts like 'Waldo'.. is the worst. And apologies to those named Waldo.
The BEST (or least) in the take offense dept are Shephard Smith and Joe Scarborough. Both these guys are ESSENTIALLY video bloggers. They say what they think and you can take it or leave it. Special category for O'Reilly who writes a great book but whose 'spin' is the supposed 'no-spin'. Somehow I doubt his on-air positions are ALWAYS TRULY part of his core.

- Subnote on irritants: Am I the only one who only listens to Hannity for his interviews? And who switches stations when he launches: "Who said this"?

Potomac Fever - Not a new concept. But the basis of why we have RINO's, and "Mr Smith goes to Washington"
Somehow I get the feeling that politico's have to LEAVE office before they admit they have it.. or are in danger of falling into it. John Kasich and Scarborough come to mind. Maybe even Newt...
I'm an Ohioan, so my current objects of contempt are both DeWine and Voinovich. Infects in direct proportion t to exposure to media and number of cocktail parties attended.

Foreign Policy oddities. Best example ANYONE should come up with is sanctions that last more than 5 years. Does ANY conservative REALLY doubt that, if the US had refused to apply inhibition to Cuban trade and had just let it go.. which means upsetting that Cuban ex-pat baseline.. that Castro would either have been kicked out or would have morphed into the model of the Chinese? Instead we continue to provide Fidel with the 'boogie-man' and a windmill to tilt against.
- It's SIMPLE, stupid! We either BELIEVE in the FREE Market or we dont!

More ideas!
Dems on Display - Is there anythingREALLY better than watching Ted Kennedy and Joe Biden makes asses of themselves on national TV?!!!!
Every time these guys go on C-Span on a hearing panel (like Roberts) they show the public what they're really about. It's all about them.
Downside: increases public distrust in, and contempt for, politicians of all stripes.. so then the voter FORGETS about Fred Thompson. And even Lamar Alexander. Or John Glenn before the aliens took over his body. Or Sonny Bono, who was about to become a REAL advocate before the leftist conspiracy stuck that tree in his path.

Even Worse; the Republicans having assumed the positive points of Liberal thought.. realizing they were ACTING like rascists even when they weren't.. have forced the Dems farther Left. Thus we have the talking points of Kennedy and Leahy previewed on Daily KOS and Dem Underground.
The more these Senate clowns spout the radical line, they higher the voter turnout against the Democrats.
This is REALLY dangerous: Once marginalized to the point of about ten percent, the 'enlightened left' will come to the conclusion that only 'urban terrorism' and revolution can "Save America".
You are ALREADY seeing this proposed

Laughable - The lefty rants about FEMA being run by 'Political Hacks'. Not the charges, which are TRUE, but the idea that if Dems were in power that it WOULDNT be run by 'political hacks'!
Hell, Dem's are ALL ABOUT political patronage. And you only have to look at Louisiana's history to see it.

More later.. as I compose my thoughts.

Oh, BTW... The handle I use is a sort of self-aware acknowledgement of my tendency to ramble and post 'Stream of Consciousness".. but I suppose you've figured that out by now.
For more Damning evidence simply type pettyfog into the google search box.