De Doc's Institute for Memetic Engineering And Polymaths' Pursuits

In Pyongyang?

It’s possible:

North Korea’s official radio and news agency has dropped the honorific “Dear Leader” from its reports on the country’s leader, Kim Jong-il.

The report by Radiopress, a Japanese news agency that monitors North Korea’s radio, follows news this week that portraits of the North Korean leader have been removed from homes and offices.

That kind of thing doesn’t happen in Workers’ Paradises, unless something’s afoot. Neither do things like this:

It’s Thursday in Japan and I have received email from Kyoto from Mongai Kome, frequent commenter on this blog. His morning paper (Sankei Shinbun) is reporting anti-regime flyers being posted in over fifty places in North Korea. This public display of disobedience in that benighted country is unprecedented and has been going on for the last month. Here is Mongai:

“The most prevalent flyer is called the “sixteen lies” of tyrant Kim and his tyrant father and it takes apart the fundamental myths and propaganda regarding the cult of the Kims and outlines the failings of the regime. Another flyer is based on the thesis that Kim Jong-il killed his father (perhaps some propaganda in and of itself but a brilliant move given the traditions of the Korean culture.)

Here is hoping things happen in twos and in Iran and North Korea justice will be done, and done soon, and done of, by, and for the people there with a little help from friends.” …

Now, this does not necessarily mean that spring is coming early to the Korean peninsula. The North Korean generals may have decided that given the current political… “correlation of forces"… in Washington DC, it’s time to enact a little regime change on terms favorable to the PRNK Army. Or the Chinese may have decided that they have one loose cannon too many on their border. These signs do not mean an imminent North Korean collapse, with a bloodless reunification with the South.

Still.

There is at least a glimmer of hope for the North Korean people…. and for their anxious neighbors.

They deserve better than the last half-century has given them. May they see better days soon.

Perhaps Libya was not an isolated success… but a good start.

Links by way of The Professor and Roger Simon.

Not so very long ago, I saw Robert Heinlein’s spitting image at EPCOT.

Now I’m reading Retief’s thoughts… except I’m not reading a novel; I’m reading a real diplomatic blog.

Curiouser and curiouser.

Go have a look – it’s a hoot.

Think long and hard about what his Cabinet will look like.

Just scroll down, past the paen to Paglia.

Thank you, Jeff… I think. *shudder*

ZombyBoy is seeing steadily increasing traffic… and having MET him whilst on business in Denver, ‘tother day, I am delighted for him.

Besides, he’s nigh onto as fond of Heinlein as I am.

I have seen him in the flesh, and have drank his soda. Time to make him One Of The Inner Circle…

Read the rest of this entry »

To quote Senator Lieberman again:

… those responsible for killing 3,000 Americans on Sept. 11, 2001, never apologized. Those who have killed hundreds of Americans in uniform in Iraq, working to liberate Iraq and protect our security, have never apologized. And those who murdered and burned and humiliated four Americans in Fallujah a while ago never (apologized)….

Michelle neatly sums up everything I feel about the latest Islamicist snuff-film:

I am pissed at the soldiers who committed abuses because we don’t do that. At least, we aren’t supposed to. …

But this. This is different. This is in-your-face terrorism. And you can bet your ass we won’t get an apology for it.

No bet there, sorry.

Don’t know why she took a break

nor where she was during the break

but I’m sure glad she’s back!

Missed you, VK. Nice to see you blogging again…

well, actually, Margi did…

Unobscured by catapult or crewmembers… de Doc!

This was taken at Discovery Cove, which is WAY much fun. My family was celebrating the 21st birthday of our exchange student, whom we’d known for near onto 4 years at that point. A good time was had by all.

And there you have it!

Ah. Over there, by my iMac….

Tip of the biscotti to darlin’ Margi, for sticking it to The Pretentoid of Kuro5hin.

Note to His Precious Pretentiousness: You are, in fact, being mocked.

Just sayin’.

of pretentious bloggage, there’s very little that can compare with this little gem of ever-so-precious elitist claptrap.

The author goes on at great length about the dangers that MT blogs present to the internet, and how Google is in imminent danger of collapsing under the weight. No mention of how much Internet traffic goes to prOn, as opposed to blogging… but who wants to be bothered by tiresome things like *facts*? They would detract from the vigor of his tantrum, as he pouts about the common people sullying his precious internet playground with THEIR thoughts.

Horrors! The serfs might actually be learning things, and speaking for themselves! They are no longer content to let the Wise And Learned Souls speak for them, care for their needs, tell them what to think and where they might do so …

Newsflash, Commissar. The Internet isn’t the private preserve of technohobbyists. And whining about it only makes you look…

well…

like the kind of person you are.

*shrug* In kuro5hin, veritas. Knock yourself out.

Tip of the MT-cgi to Kevin, whose satirical sendup of this descendant of Col. Blimp is almost worth the original whine-fest.

Sad news:

(CNN) – Television’s Captain Kangaroo, Bob Keeshan, died Friday morning in Vermont, a family friend told CNN. He was 76.

I’ve had the news today from a variety of sources. The title above was theng line for the e-mail I received from the ICG mailing list… and it evokes everything I am feeling right now.

Rest peacefully, Captain.

By way of Meryl, news that the producer of Babylon 5 may be pitching a new series set in the B5 universe.

MAJOR good news if this turns out to be true.

UPDATE: Jay’s noted this as well.

I look at my site statistics.

And I look at Kate’s…

Mercy. Me.

I would not be blogging, were it not for Kate’s encouragement and help. If I thought in terms of blog-lineages, she would be my blog-mom; no doubt about it.

I am delighted that she is receiving the kind of notice her work deserves, and look forward to celebrating her MILLIONTH hit.

Sometime in January, at this rate. Hee!

Head on over there, and let’s see if one of MY readers puts her over a quarter-million!

I hardly know where to begin with this little gem from LGF:

Armed with a doctor’s certificate, recommendations from two psychiatrists and a straight-jacket, a group of campaigners will attempt to get George W Bush sectioned under the Mental Health Act (1983) during his visit to Britain this week… Using their knowledge of the system, the group composed of doctors, psychologists and mental health professionals will attempt to force an emergency (psychiatric admission)…

The group behind this plan is the No Confidence Campaign, a non-aligned group of activists and health care professionals who were formed before the outbreak of war in an attempt to force a vote of no confidence in the Tony Blair’s leadership on the grounds of mental incapacity.

“Non-aligned". I don’t believe I’ve ever heard that word used to denote grotesque clinical irresponsibility before. Hmmm.

… They believe that President Bush’s mental stability also needs to be examined… Concerns about his messianic style of leadership are widespread. Consultant psychiatrist Dr A Walker said today;

“In Mr Bush we see an individual who believes he has been chosen by god, who holds to certain beliefs regardless of logic or fact, and who demonstrates an inability to empathise. These are classic symptoms of someone suffering from psychotic grandiose delusions.”

If Dr. Walker wants to talk about “grandiose delusions", let’s talk about his belief that he is competent to make a judgment about the mental state of a person from several thousand miles away, who he’s never met.

Or maybe the NHS confers Special Secret Superpowers on it’s employees, and he’s using Telepathy at Level 16. (Also, I assume, Invisibility and Impenetrable Skin, to avoid the consequences of trying to bull their way past both the DPG and the Secret Service to serve the writ.)

Or maybe these health care “professionals” are enjoying the luxury of political posturing, safe in the knowledge that the NHS will pay them regardless of the time spent away from their practices, comforted by the knowledge that the British security cordon will keep them from having to show any fortitude in dealing with the DPG, or the Secret Service?

COWARDS.

Perhaps I should be prepared to meet Dr. Walker, or any of his confreres in the No Confidence Campaign, when they come to Orlando on holiday. With a duly filled out Baker Act writ, in accordance with Florida mental health and emergency medicine law, allowing them to enjoy the first three days of their Florida vacation on the state…

Turnabout’s fair play, right?

But I can’t. Unlike Dr. Walker, I refuse to prostitute my Hippocratic Oath, nor abuse my responsibilities under Florida law, nor violate my ethical code, simply because I deplore this arrogant wanker’s politics.

Instead… why, I’ll throw Velociman at him:

QUOTE FOR THE DAY

I have never made but one prayer to God, a very short one: ‘O Lord, make my enemies ridiculous.’ And God granted it.
— Voltaire

I’ve been remiss in noting people who’ve done me the courtesy of referrals and links.

Like… Burton Terrace, who has Floridian friends and shares my respect for Senator Miller; One Fine Jay, who’s been having a fine time retooling his blog, of late; Resurrectionsong, where fellow Heinlein fanciers lurk; Kevin Aylward, at the euphoniously named Wizbang! …

Time I got around to fixing that, eh?

How about this meme…

“You’ll NEVER work in this town AGAIN!”

Because that needs to happen to someone…

Democrats Mull Politicizing Iraq War Intelligence

WASHINGTON — Fox News has obtained a document believed to have been written by the Democratic staff of the Senate Intelligence Committee (search) that outlines a strategy for exposing what it calls “the administration’s dubious motives" in the lead-up to the war in Iraq.

The memo, provided late Tuesday by a source on the Committee and reported by Fox News’ Sean Hannity, discusses the timing of a possible investigation into pre-war Iraq (search) intelligence in such a way that it could bring maximum embarrassment to President Bush in his re-election campaign.

Among other things, the memo recommends that Democrats “prepare to launch an investigation when it becomes clear we have exhausted the opportunity to usefully collaborate with the [Senate] majority. We can pull the trigger on an independent investigation of the administration’s use of intelligence at any time — but we can only do so once … the best time would probably be next year.”

The last paragraph of the memo reads, “Intelligence issues are clearly secondary to the public’s concern regarding the insurgency in Iraq.”

That last quote came from someone working for the Senate Intelligence Committee.

If I had a picture of the author, I’d have my next entry in the Devil’s Illustrated Dictionary. The only problem would be in picking the right word. Treacherous… contemptible… filthy…

Following the Founders, I wouldn’t use “treasonous"; though in the common usage, as opposed to that we find in the Constitution, I’ll grant the word has a certain appeal.

People are fighting against Islamicists in Iraq and Afghanistan, my shipmates and fellows in arms are dying in these theatres, and we have THIS kind of …behavior… coming from the halls of the SENATE?

And what does the ranking Democrat have to say about this appaling new low for the party that was, once, Jackson’s?

Committee Chairman Pat Roberts, R-Kan., appeared clearly shocked by the memo, which Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W. Va., ranking member on the Intelligence Committee, acknowledged was written in draft form and not meant for distribution….

Rockefeller did not say who wrote the memo.

“The draft memo was not approved nor was it shared with any member of the Senate Intelligence Committee or anyone else,” he said.

A show of hands for anyone who believes this, please…

*visualize air, bereft of hands*

…  "It was likely taken from a waste basket or through unauthorized computer access.”

Rockefeller added, “The memo clearly reflects staff frustration with the conduct of the Senate Intelligence Committee investigation and the difficulties of obtaining information from the administration.”

No, Senator Rockerfeller. The memo clearly reflects the shameful obsession of members of your committee’s staff with using their privileged access to classified information, not to further the interests of the country, not to protect American men and women in arms, but for use in base smear tactics and political dirty trickery.

And damn the national interest; and damn the oaths sworn to keep this information privy.

You know who wrote this, Senator. Repudiate this contemptible policy. FIRE that staffer. See to it that they never work in DC again, or in any place where they have accecss to privy secrets.

If not… may the voters of West Virginia remember you for the oathbreaker you are, and deal with you at the polls as you deserve.

Honors to:

Steven den Beste

Mike, at Cold Fury

Emperor Misha

Little Green Footballs

…all of whom are all over this.

where to begin, this morning; I’ve a whole slew of stuff to say about dhimmitude, the MIA Muslim “center” and the implications thereof, and I’ve already melted two keyboards trying to make a start.

So… I think I’ll go have a cuppa, take a nice stretch, and go read something inspirational…

like Venomous Kate’s weekly Snarkfest. Yes; that should do nicely…

well, occasionally.

Like when my friend Venomous Kate invites linky love… here…

well, how should I possibly resist?

Heh.

that special moment

that certain someone

Yes, gentle readers…
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the anticipated snarkfest over at Kate’s, here’s a lovely bit of work from the satire-surgeons at Cox and Forkum:

I have been remiss in adding these folks to the Pros’ Prose category, over in the sidebar. No more!

I’ll check in as I can–but I am headed out the door to Denver, to teach swordfighting. Any curious souls might be able to find me at the Renaissance –the Marriott property.

The rest of you? Take a page from Kelley and Kate, and go have fun!

of culled sac-ness.

because the Blight goes Hawai’ian… Real Soon Now.

So fortify yourself now; for like Erica, you’ll just have to languish next week,

sustaining yourself with mental images of Kelley and Kate, hanging together, laughing, drinks in hand, sarong-clad…

Hmmm.

Moments like this, I almost regret I don’t smoke.

as viewed through the gimlet eye of Mark Steyn:

…NBC is murmuring that it may be “inappropriate” for the wife of a Republican Governor to continue as a news correspondent for the network.

That’s hilarious. For years, Maria has made no secret of the fact that she is a Democrat and the network had no problem with that. Before her grilling of Hillary, she told NBC’s Tim Russert that she had done a lot of research. “You want to admire her, and yet you’re a journalist,” she said. “You can’t just come on and do this, like, ‘Oh, you’re so wonderful’ interview” - which sort of gives the game away. In the end, she confined her admiration to comparing the First Lady to Nelson Mandela. She and Castro got on famously - wonderful Cuban health care, marvellous public housing, etc. But now NBC is worried she’s going to be slipping Right-wing propaganda into this hitherto scrupulously impartial reporting.

That sound you hear is NBC’s pompousity deflating.

If Mr. Steyn were an amateur, he’d surely be a Friend of Ambrose. But he’s an accomplished professional. So, it’s Pros’ Prose for him!

look into the light, and siddown, see?

The mind reels at the thought of the pitch that this company must have made to Duracell.

I can’t wait to hear Margi’s reaction…

what do they have in common?

Both of them need more time for their writing… and are cutting back their blogging accordingly.

I regret that Gibson’s taking an extended LOA; I was looking forward to adding his blog to “Pros’ Prose". On the other hand… truth to tell, if I had been compelled to choose, I’d rather have Gibson silent and VK writing less often, than vice versa.

Just sayin’, yannow?

I was moved by Velociman’s recent posts on local bloggers to do some rebuilding of the sidebar. And being a bit of a Shakespeare geek, the sidebar categories came naturally…

“Friends” – people who I have actually chatted with at length, who encouraged me to bite the bullet and blog more often. If we’ve IM’d, you’re belike to be found here.

“Romans” – august, erudite writers of significant impact.

“Countrymen” – local and regional bloggers, as I stumble over them discover them…

It occurs to me that the logical next category would be “Lend Me Your Ears"… but the folks I want to add are more likely to *take* them. Gotta give that some thought.

for Kate’s snarkification:

I wouldn’t *give* the RIAA anything. Including my money, just at the moment.

Nor was I proposing surgery.

What I had in mind did have something to do with blades, however…

See: Flense (v). Or Chipper (n).

Not raise more questions…

KUWAIT, Oct. 2 — Kuwaiti authorities have seized archaeological artefacts and ‘’other items'’ smuggled from Iraq into Kuwait, Deputy Prime Minister Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Sabah said in remarks published on Thursday.

‘’Kuwaiti security forces were able to seize some Iraqi artefacts smuggled to Kuwait,'’ al-Sabah, who is also interior minister, was quoted as saying by al-Seyassah daily. He did not identify the other items.

Al-Sabah was responding to a question about a report the paper carried on Wednesday that Kuwaiti security forces had foiled an attempt to smuggle artefacts, chemical materials and biological warheads from Iraq to a European country via Kuwait.

Kuwaiti security sources told Reuters on Wednesday the report on the seizure of such weapons was baseless.

OK, so it sounds like a misattribution, right?

Well… maybe not:

Asked about the report of seized biological warheads, al-Sabah also told al-Qabas newspaper: ‘’Up to now we have not verified this…There are some artefacts that were seized which we are examining to see if they are real or fake.'’

“We have not verified this…” is not the kind of language one wants to hear when dealing with suspected NBC weapons. And not the kind of simple, categorical denial one would have expected if this is a total crock.

De Doc sez: Someone thinks they’ve found something… and is being cautious until verifying it. The Kuwaiti leaker compicated matters. (Gosh; I am having a fit of deja vu…)

The story still bears watching.

Hat tips to Howard Owens, by way of Instapundit.

seems to be in the air today.

Kelley’s counting the days until the Blight goes Hawaiian… whilst dodging a bullet, herself. *frisson*

In Hawai’i, Kate’s anticipating a lovely day out with her son. We, in turn, are anticpating the Letter of the Day, and the double-dose, super-sized, lamentably delayed Hunting of the Snark.

LOTs of that anticipation going around, eh?

HellifIknow.

The speed with which accusations, retractions, “refinements", and the like are spattering about –from both sides of the Left-to-Right spectrum– are suggestive of *one* thing to me…

Spin before substance.

With a substantial helping of hypocrisy, whilst we’re at it –everyone hates a leaker, unless it supports THEIR cause, and we’re seeing abundant evidence of that double standard.

AGAIN, on both sides.

Gahhhhhhhh.

Possibly.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A genetic susceptibility may explain why SARS raged last year in Southeast Asia and nowhere else in the world outside of Toronto, Taiwanese researchers reported this week.

They found a certain variant in an immune system gene called human leukocyte antigen, or HLA, made patients in Taiwan much more likely to develop life-threatening symptoms of SARS.

The gene variant is common in people of southern Chinese descent, the team at Mackay Memorial Hospital in Taipei reported.

The researchers readily admit that further study is necessary to confirm these preliminary findings. Still… a fascinating possibility.

Ripples are now spreading from the initial report of WMDs being intercepted in Kuwait.

Searching Google for “kuwait news” yields a link to the Hindustani Times article, but no others yet.

Searching AP fails to yield the story, despite the Times’ citing an AP wire report as a source. However, Dow Jones Newswires IS carrying the story here. A reader at LGF states he’s talked to the AP General desk, who confirms this is a REAL wire report – though they are “concerned about the reliability of the Kuwaiti newspaper".

This story, as it evolves, shows the strengths AND the weaknesses of the “blog as news” meme. With a distributed network of interested writers, the blogosphere is very sensitive, and can detect initial reports readily. But verification is not so easy. We’d all like to just be able to call Al-Siyassah, but the lack of Arabic is an impediment; we don’t have access to the unfiltered feeds from AP and Reuters and UPI, so we’re stuck with their filtered websites and secondary sources such as Dow Jones and the Times.

On the other hand, people are starting to take that in hand, and actually make phone calls, as above.

Blog journalism evolves.

Meanwhile…

48 hours, 48 hours.

Maybe.

Applying the 48 hour rule seems prudent, but if this story pans out, it’s HUGE:

Following months of frustrated searches by hundreds of U.S. and British investigators for Saddam’s weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, some have turned up in Kuwait, according to Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Siyassah.

The pro-government daily reports Kuwaiti security forces foiled an attempted smuggling of $60 million worth of chemical weapons and biological warheads from Iraq to an unnamed European country.

Citing an unnamed security source, Al-Siyassah said the smugglers had been under surveillance since they arrived in Kuwait and were arrested “in due time.”

No details about the suspects, possible accomplices, where the weapons came from in Iraq and how they were acquired were disclosed.

The smuggled arms will be turned over to an FBI agent by Kuwaiti Interior Minister Sheik Nawwaf Al Ahmed Al Sabah, according to the paper. No time was given for the news conference where this handover is slated to take place…

The Hindustan Times is also covering the story. And THEY are citing an AP wire report.

I will be VERY interested to see where this goes… for example: if this pans out, the identity of the “European country” that was the intended recipient will be of some interest.

More on THIS story to follow; bet on it.

Credit to LGF, for the VERY interesting news…

Bill Whittle.

NEW essay.

Off with you. I’ll wait…

no I won’t. I’ll be there, reading it too.

the upcoming Snarkfest, I wish I had written this:

yesterday I presented Coraline to a group of booksellers, in company with Margaret Atwood, who presented Oryx and Crake. She told the booksellers that her book wasn’t speculative fiction because everything in the book was based on a scientific speculation in a brown envelope in her research box which left me scratching my head as to where she thinks science fiction (or even speculative fiction) writers get their ideas from. ("Dear God, for years we’ve just been making this stuff up! And now that Atwood woman turns the whole thing on its head by basing it on scientific fact! Why the Hell didn’t we think of that?")

Have I mentioned how turgid and overrated I think Atwood is, BTW? No?

Ah well; take it as read.

And if you haven’t met Neil Gaiman, yet, I envy you. Go thou to Amazon and get busy…

Mr. Gaiman’s been added to the rolls… in fact, I’ve changed the sidebar a bit. Professional artists who (a) blog, and (b) write stuff that I think meets the Really Cool criteria, will be found now in “Pros’ Prose". Enjoy!

about this local story:

A 2-year-old Jacksonville girl left alone nearly three weeks while her mother was in jail was in good health yesterday after eating everything from chicken to Cheerios much of the night, her father said from the toddler’s hospital room.

The girl was being treated at Wolfson Children’s Hospital for malnutrition and dehydration after she was left to fend for herself for 19 days inside her Arlington apartment, surviving on ketchup and raw pasta…

The girl’s mother … is being held in the Duval County jail. She appeared in court yesterday to answer to charges of aggravated child abuse filed after the toddler was found alone by her father.

(Jacksonville Sheriff John) Rutherford said Lee failed to let anyone know the girl, who is not being identified by the Times-Union, was home alone when her mother was arrested Sept. 10 on unrelated charges. Bail was set at $150,000, and her next court date is scheduled for Oct. 22, police said.

I am simply, past words, livid.

My last two attempts to write about this melted the keyboards.

Replaceing them will become expensive… so I will simply leave my contempt and disgust as an exercise for the reader.

…Kelley’s newest

!!!

Modesty would forbid my pointing out that I was a part of the Cul-de-Sac this week, but shameless self-aggrandizement won out.

While waiting for Venomous Kate to feel better –may it be soon!– I’ve been consoling myself with such tidbits of snarky goodness as I can find.

Here’s a splendid flick of the scalpel, as Mark Steyn dissects the Canadian government’s foray into marijuana production:

Wanna score some government dope? In Canada, the courts recently ruled that patients suffering from AIDS, cancer and other diseases were entitled to enjoy the benefits of ‘’medical marijuana'’ – and not just any old marijuana, but official government marijuana, supplied to them by Health Canada, the government health system. Health Canada mulled it over and set up a program to grow the court-ordered federal pot in a disused mine in Flin Flon, Manitoba.

FLIN FLON?

I couldn’t make this kind of stuff up if I tried.

Almost the perfect name for a government facility site.

But it gets better:

Of the first 10 patients to be supplied with the government weed, half claim it’s the worst pot they’ve ever smoked. They’re sending it back to Ottawa and they want a full refund. ‘’It’s totally unsuitable for human consumption,'’ says Jim Wakeford, an AIDS patient in Gibsons, British Columbia. ‘’I threw up,'’ says Barrie Dalley of Toronto.

Health Canada insists their dope contains 10.2 percent THC, the main active ingredient. But the respected pot lobbyist Philippe Lucas says the government weed is only 3 percent THC and full of contaminants like lead and arsenic. Aren’t lead and arsenic dangerous? To modify Nancy Reagan: ‘’Just say no to government drugs.'’

One of the reasons I’m in favor of small government is because there’s hardly anything the government doesn’t do worse than anybody else who wants to give it a go. Usually when I make this observation, I’m thinking of, say, Britain’s late unlamented nationalized car industry. But when the government of a G7 nation can’t run a small marijuana sideline as well as a college student with a window box, that seems to set an entirely new standard for official underperformance. Big government goes to pot, in every sense.

I don’t know where to start. Government mandated levels of THC… arsenic and lead contamination of an official government medicinal product… that marvelous punch line…

Perfect. Just perfect.

A tip of the hat to Samizdata… and a space on the blogroll, too; the fine folks of Samizdata have one of the most consistently erudite and witty journal-blogs out there.

Why isn’t it good enough for us?

from Fox News:

DENVER — The office phone number of a federal judge who ruled last week that a national do-not-call registry is unconstitutional was among the thousands already on the list.

U.S. District Judge Edward Nottingham’s (search) number was added in July to the registry, which was designed to block telemarketers’ calls.

It wasn’t clear whether Nottingham himself registered the number or knew it had been registered. A call to the office Saturday was not immediately returned.

Heh. I’ll bet it wasn’t.

It’s a pity that the call even got through… if you know what I mean.

Once this news gets around, I will bet that not many more calls will get through.

In honor anticipation of Kate’s upcoming snarkfest, this elegant stilleto from Victor Davis Hanson:

For all the harping, postbellum Iraq and Afghanistan offer hope; the Taliban and Saddam Hussein certainly did not. The world knows the United States is promoting liberal government and that gangsters — whether in Afghanistan, Iraq, or on the West Bank — are opposing it. Choosing between the Dark Ages and the Enlightenment is not difficult even for the French, especially when someone else pays and dies.

Oh ook.

By way of Little Green Footballs… a pretty good source of snarkery in it’s own right.

UPDATE: Sympathies to our Kate, who’s picked up a cold. Hope you get well soon, VK!

and today is an excellent day to say so.

And may all of you have a blessed, happy year!

Rosh Hashanah starts… well, almost now, here in Jacksonville. If you aren’t sure what that means, you could do a LOT worse than go to Judaism 101 and seek knowledge.

Kelley gets credit for the mitzvah of finding the site.

Even as the Congress moved to address the FIRST court challenge to the Do Not Call list, a second judge steps up to protect telemarketers’ right to interrupt your dinner.

U.S. District Judge Edward Nottingham issued an opinion blocking the list based on telemarketers’ free speech rights, which could be more difficult for advocates of the list to sidestep.

“… The court finds that the FTC’s do-not-call registry does not materially advance its interest in protecting privacy or curbing abusive telemarketing practices.

With logic like that, Judge Nottingham must be trying for a promotion to the 9th Cricuit Court of Appeals.

…The registry creates a burden on one type of speech based solely on its content, without a logical, coherent privacy-based or prevention-of-abuse-based reason supporting the disparate treatment of different categories of speech,” Nottingham wrote.

So, let me get this straight.

A list which is made up of people who *do not wish to be bothered by telemarketing protospammers* is somehow illegitimate… and those people must endure the unwanted intrusion into their homes of this bilge?

Hopefully, Judge Nottingham will not be asked to rule on the Constitutionality of restraining orders, lest he try and protect the speech of those poor souls who want to continue to say their piece to their unwilling victims audience.

If this was Great Britain, one might look for the tinfoil under the judge’s wig.

I would have considerably more sympathy with the teleschmuckateers if they were simply being banned by the government. But the government is not prohibiting telemerdeators from speaking their turgid spiels; they are simply insisting that they cease and desist intruding into the lives of people who have NO INTEREST in listening, and who have so identified themselves by a mechanism enacted by their representatives in the Congress.

This misinterpretation of the First Amendment… aspires to barking moonbat-ism.

Are we SURE this judge isn’t awaiting a seat on the 9th Circuit Court?

And…

does anyone have HIS email, and home phone?

I have been shamefully remiss in keeping up with my blogroll. High time I did something about that…

like add my New Federalist conspirator fellow traveller, Dave Tepper, at Interrobang!. Especially since, as of this writing, he’s enjoying the same guilty pleasure as I am – contemplating Judge Lee R. West (of “let the telemarketers call” fame) as he enjoys a hefty dose of public opinion.

Heh heh heh.

While reading Neil Gaiman’s blog, I ran across this small jewel of a snark:

New York is already starting to recede into a strange signing hand-aching braindead sort of blur.

I stayed at the Library Hotel – having mentioned it on the journal I thought I’d try it – and was disappointed. The concept of themed book-filled Dewey decimal-numbered rooms is a wonderful one, but I felt like they’d missed out on the whole hotel bit that goes with it…

WOW.

That kind of throwaway brilliance, in a blog.

If you aren’t reading Gaiman…whyever not?

There’s a regional firm, here, who’s URL is… well, I could not make this up if I tried:

http://www.forthepeople.com/

Isn’t that just… precious?

Of course, it’s a little self serving… as these paladins of the legal pad rake in their cut of the 40 BILLION dollar take.

If that doesn’t vex you, have at this site:

“Trial Lawyers, Inc.” behaves like the biggest of businesses, as it generates cash from traditional profit centers (like asbestos, tobacco and insurance), explores potential growth markets (like lead paint, mold and regulated industries), and develops new products (like suits against the fast-food industry).

The lawsuit industry is also increasingly sophisticated in targeting its customer base through the Internet and traditional media outlets, and its government relations and public relations arms are the most powerful of business lobbies

Out of total U.S. tort costs of over $200 billion—more than 2% of GDP—Trial Lawyers, Inc. grosses $40 billion per year in revenues, or 50% more than Microsoft or Intel and twice those of Coca-Cola.

“…GROSSES $40 billion.”

What an entirely appropriate usage.

There are, I grant, legitimate grievances being litigated out there. I am *not* attempting to rehabilitate, oh, the tobacco industry’s reputation here.

But honest so help me, this seems like trying to treat smallpox by infusions of polio.

GAAHHHHHHHH.

D is for darkness… dusk, dawn, and other delectable things about the turn of the season.

D is for DOWN. Sit down. All the cool guys are doing so. (I do, too.)

Not enough? Go see Kate for more.

At the risk of kissing up, K is for Kate, who kicked me a few times,

kindled my interest,

and… well, here I am, blogging away!

So kick it on over to the Snake Pit for more… ‘K?

One of the joys of the Internet is finding essayists and columnists that your local papers don’t carry. I have been enjoyed reading Mark Steyn’s industrial-grade snarks – if he weren’t a professional, Kate would have to give him a permanent entry in the weekly Snark Hunt – and Victor Davis Hanson’s insights.

But I am unwilling to let a day go by, now, without reading James Lileks.

I was first introduced to him by Bill Whittle; no mean recommendation, that. But I kept reading him on his own merits, which are manifold.

Even if you’re not a fan of 50’s pop culture –from food, through ads, to all manner of kitsch– ignore the “flotsam project", and go straight to the Bleats… which are anything but.

Like vintage Heinlein, he will meander from point to point, talking of his family, or the neighborhood, and just when you think he’s amiable-but-vague, he’ll slip in something like this…

Thought of this story again while reading about the soldiers who were offered the chance to leave their post because of Isabel. They were guarding the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington; this would have been the first time the tomb was unguarded. They said, in essence, sir no thank you sir.

And the hairs will stand up on the back of your neck.

Again and again and again he pulls this off.

I stand in awe.

Lileks goes on to comment:

You can break down the entire country into two camps, two reactions to the story:

1. Bemusement.

2. Gratitude.

Mark me down in solidly in the second category. And AFTER I’ve expressed my gratitude to “The Old Guard”…

I’ll tip my hat to Mr. Lileks as well.

Put him on your “daily read” list. You’ll not be disappointed.

Disney World, that is.

More to follow as the workday settles down.

…and your wife’s was no less arduous

and your son had a so-so week, at best

and you’ve blogged like a fiend.

Now it’s Friday, Doc; what are you going to do next?
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NOT.

From Fox News:

Attorney General John Ashcroft … (released) to the public once-classified information that tells the exact number of library records that FBI agents have viewed under rules outlined in the USA Patriot Act.

The total: zero.

The Attorney General released these figures as part of his campaign to preserve the Patriot Act, as criticism mounts – including among conservative Republican congressmen.

Presumably, Mr. Ashcroft wishes to reassure us that the Act is not being abused.

I, for my part, wish to assure Mr. Ashcroft that his concerns are misplaced.

People are taking a long, hard look at the Patriot Act not because of the abuses that are being reported. They are looking at the Act because the provisions in the law are, in several places, contrary to the Bill of Rights and a threat to the preservation of liberty, *even if they are not currently being employed.*

During a conversation on this topic, a friend of mine offered an excellent analogy. If you’re waiting for a bus, late at night, and someone leans on the lightpost nearby; pulls out a ten inch knife; and ostentatiously cleans his nails with it…. do you find the fact that he hasn’t put the knife in your chest yet *reassuring*?

Money quote for the day: From Bob Barr, conservative Republican, former Georgia congressman… and now chairman of the American Conservative Union’s 21st Century Center For Privacy And Freedom:

… Barr disputed the notion that only a small number of Americans oppose the Patriot Act.

“The fact of the matter is that the vast majority of Americans don’t have any idea what this is.” Barr said, adding that the number of opponents is growing among those who have really investigated the act. 

“If that were not the case, you would not see the attorney general going on a whistle-stop tour to shore up support,” he said.

UPDATE: Eugene Volokh comments. Pejman points out that many opponents of the Act are reflexively anti-Bush… which is quite true, and does obscure attempts to speak clearly to the issues which ARE important.

Kate has again raised the hue and cry, and it’s off we are to hunt Snarks!

This time, best bring the bloodhounds and the pointers with you, to sniff out all the snarks hiding in the riggings…

To anticipate tomorrow’s holiday… Avast there, me fine lads and lassies; ’tis time to take up arms and repel boarders! At ‘em with the cutlass, AAARRRRRRRRRRRR!

Whittle, who’s thinking about taking it on the road.

Wow!

WooHoo!

Wonderful!

WING on over to Kate’s place for more “W"-styled goodness.

From the ever-worthy Samizdata weblog, excellent news from Scaled Composites about engine testing for their X prize entry.

In fact, the news is even better than it appears at first glance. Bert Rutan’s team has not one, but two competing teams, working to provide the engine.

One of the principal roadblocks to civil and private space access is that it’s tough to get out of the gravity well. Prior engines have been finicky pieces of “engineer’s jewelry", handcrafted for expensive one-off trips. Hybrid motor technology offers the potential of simpler, robust engines, that CAN be used over and over again. The exhaust is also MUCH less toxic than with some other approaches – water vapor, carbon dioxide, hydrogen, nitrogen and a residual dose of carbon monoxide. No exotic components that aren’t part of the atmosphere already.

There is a very real chance that the “loser” in the competition for the Rutan bid will have a safe, useful engine, which can be deployed in other private space access systems.

THIS is a win-win scenario. I’ll be watching to see how it develops.

I’ve been thinking about a sidebar category, “The Library". In it, I was minded to place articles by other bloggers which caught my eye; articles which I want to be able to go back to, and read over and over as I please.

Guess I’d better look at those templates.

Kate has a cogent, thought provoking article for beginners like me, “10 things I’ve learned…”. I particularly like this piece of advice:

In the blogosphere, you are how you behave toward others. Claiming that what happens on a blog or in its comments is “just make believe” and doesn’t matter in the “real world” is little more than a childish excuse to act like an ass, and people who decide that you’re an ass based on such behavior are perfectly justified in holding such an opinion of you.

Reminiscent of a Bruce Baugh maxim… “The Net is phenomenological. Do a good imitation of a jerk, and you are one.”

Worth remembering, eh?

Come to think of it, “10 Things…” may well be something worth rereading on a regular basis, no matter how long I am at this. Time to start tweaking the templates for the new category…

I recently took substantial exception to the Patriot Act. Some of you asked for more substantive, point-by-point objections, opining that things really aren’t all that bad.

I guess it depends on your definition of BAD.

For starters, let’s look at what the Patriot Act allows the government to do in matters of surveillance of American citizens, and the oversight provided.

Section 215 of the Act allows federal officials essentially unchecked access to personal records. ANY records. ISP browsing records, doctors’ notes, library checkout records, purchases from bookstores. In order to procure that search, all the investigator must do is assert to a judge that the request for such searches is related to an ongoing terrorism or foreign intelligence investigation. He does NOT have to provide proof. Further, the judge has NO authority to deny the request.

Judges reduced to rubber stamps for government agents, who need not prove the truth of their assertions before they search the homes, property, and records of private citizens.

Doesn’t that bother you at least a LITTLE? If this doesn’t meet your definition of “unreasonable search and seizure", what possibly CAN?

If you are relying on the good will of the law enforcement and intelligence agencies of the United States, consider the stellar record of the intelligence community in following the rules:

… The U.S. Justice Department has appealed a special intelligence court ruling that limits prosecutors’ ability to share information with intelligence agencies under the anti-terrorism Patriot Act.

In that same ruling, the presiding judge of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, U.S. District Court Judge Royce Lamberth, detailed how the FBI has made an “alarming number” of errors in seeking and using national security warrants in terrorism investigations since 2000.

Those lapses – including factual errors in warrant applications and dissemination of information to law enforcement agents who weren’t supposed to have it – are the subject of internal investigations by the FBI and the Justice Department, according to Lamberth…

(And lest anyone think that this shows the government’s new powers are being monitored well, I note that the government appealed the FISA Court decision, and won. As of now, they can continue to do as they please, untrammeled by effective judicial oversight.)

But hey. If you liked that, you’ll love this: Section 213 of the Act allows the government’s agents to search private property without notice to the owner. Your home can be entered at will by government agents, after certifying it’s in the national interest, and you won’t be told about it. And that certification, too, is not subject to *meaningful* judicial review. (Meaningful, in this case, means the judge can say “NO".)

Further, you are not allowed to be TOLD of such a search, nor of the searches of your medical records, your library records, your book purchases. Persons or organizations forced to turn over such records in secret searches are prohibited from disclosing the search to anyone.

Had this sheaf of police powers been available in the days of Watergate and CONINTELPRO, is there anyone out there who thinks they wouldn’t have been abused too?

Here’s another goody for you: The Patriot Act creates a new crime of “domestic terrorism.” Section 802 defines this crime as follows…

… (5) the term ‘domestic terrorism’ means activities that—

(A) involve acts dangerous to human life that are
a violation of the criminal laws of the United States or
of any State;

(B) appear to be intended—
(i) to intimidate or coerce a civilian population;
(ii) to influence the policy of a government by
intimidation or coercion; or
(iii) to affect the conduct of a government by
mass destruction, assassination, or kidnapping; and

© occur primarily within the territorial jurisdiction
of the United States.

Sounds innocuous on the face of it, yes? However: we have already seen the RICO statute – designed, with good intentions, to combat organized crime syndicates – used to attack political advocacy organizations such as Operation Rescue. Given the phrase “…appear to be intended… to intimidate… a civilian population", why shouldn’t we expect the act to receive broader usage over time, with applications against any group that a given government doesn’t like? Given that the attorney general feels critics of his policies are unpatriotic, at best:

… to those who scare peace-loving people with phantoms of lost liberty; my message is this: Your tactics only aid terrorists—for they erode our national unity and diminish our resolve. They give ammunition to America’s enemies, and pause to America’s friends. They encourage people of good will to remain silent in the face of evil…

I am suppose to trust this man NOT to expand the definition of terrorism?

Let me step back for a moment.

I am not asserting that the current Administration is Conspiring To Take Over The Country (oooh, shiver, frissons, the HORRORS!). Those who casually fling about phrases such as “frothing at the mouth” (behind peoples’ backs, with no trackbacks) will perhaps be disappointed…

Oh, well.

I object strenuously to the Patriot Act because it represents a major step towards the abolition of our Constitutional freedoms, all in the name of patriotism and security. Even if the CURRENT government does not use its powers on anyone but Al-Qaeda members, there is NO guarantee that the powers this Act purports to grant will not be abused.

Give up a little freedom here, a little freedom there, and soon you’re wearing someone’s slave collar. Our Founding Fathers knew better; the first Amendments to the Constitution were the set known as the Bill Of Rights, designed to make it utterly clear, to all posterity, that there are powers the government cannot be trusted with.

If a government can search your property and effects at will, without effective appeal or recourse, when will they suppress news organizations who dissent with Administration policies?

if the Fourth Amendment can be ignored at will, what of the First?

It is time, and high time, and PAST time, that we saw this affront to our liberties overturned.

UPDATE: Stephen Green comments on the “Patriot” Act.

That horrible bastion of flagrant liberalism, the American Library Association, has an excellent page of resources about the Act.

Kelley takes the words right out of my mouth, in this elegant little gem:

Removing Arafat. What a concept. Like lancing a festering boil. Yeah, the initial outpouring is going to hurt like hell, and we’ll see some blood. But it’s the only way to make the damned thing heal up for good.

I could almost find it in myself to be jealous.

NAH.

I’ll just enjoy my post-call mellow intead, and chuckle.

…but a VERY VERY busy shift, more fit for Cook County ER than this rural setting. So I might be a bit lean on the boards tonight.

On the other hand…

it’s September 12th.

We’re still here.

*That* in the eye of the terrorists.

We’re still here.

Just say it with me:
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As we approach the second anniversary of the Terrible Day, we must not forget.

We must not forget that on September 11th, 2001, enemies came to our very home, seeking to cripple us. They hoped to strike at our economy, and our government, and our very hearts and spirits; they wished to weaken our resolve, to cause us to retreat, to cower, and to await the slavers’ pleasure.

We must not forget how they failed.

We must not forget that brave citizens rose up, even at the hazard of their lives, to try and stop the hijackers.

We must not forget that even where the terrorists’ plans struck home, that heroes saved thousands of lives in the dire minutes between the first plane’s impact and the collapse of the towers.

Heroes like Rick Rescorla.

Go read Greyhawk’s tribute, brought to my attention by Mike. Then go, here, and join me in signing the petition.

Not for Mr. Rescorla’s sake; there are some 2600 of us whose lives attest to his bravery and sacrifice on 9/11, not to mention the men whom he led in Vietnam.

Go there and read, remember, honor him for OUR sake.

On that terrible day, in that terrible time, Rick Rescorla, and a myriad other heroes, did NOT cower. They stepped forward to save those imperiled by the actions of terrorists. Many of them died, doing so.

But they did not cower. They did not falter.

They do not falter, even now

People like Rick Rescorla pay for our freedom, daily, in the ongoing war against Islamofascist thugs.

We must not forget.

We must not “move on".

We must remember… and remembering, strengthen our resolve, that freedom shall not be extinguished by theocrats, thugs, and dictators.

We must not forget.

We must WIN.

I will not.

I will REMEMBER.

So should you. And your neighbors; and your friends; and your coworkers.

Remember. Lest it happen again.

REMEMBER.

For no reason I can assign, this particular blog-game caught my fancy.

So, courtesy of my friend, Lissa:

In a word…
Sum up your thoughts about me in one word and leave it in a comment.
Then put this on your journal to see what everyone else thinks of you.

… and even if it’s relatively unpolished, it’s NEW HEINLEIN.

I am particularly intrigued, because this novel predates Timeline, which was RAH’s first published work .. and yet covers themes and uses tropes that would have been called “mid-period” or “late period” Heinlein.

In last year’s lit-crit classes.

Even if it doesn’t have the snap and swing of Heinlein’s first short stories and novels, it will be a fascinating look at what The Grandmaster wanted to write about… BEFORE anyone knew of him.

This would be a great stocking stuffer… except for the likelihood that people like me won’t be able to wait for December.

Blessed the RAH fan whose birthday is in October, or November! And may Zombyboy never thirst, for bringing the news…

from a busy weekend being a sword-geek. Now to catch up with my mailbox.

In the meantime, while I am digging out from under, I am delighted to have been part of Kelley’s Cul De Sac for the week, as well as a Hunter Of The Snark in Kate’s weekly entry. You might want to go there and see some of the company I am keeping.

(And Kelley – sorry to have missed you. Maybe next time I’m in Hotlanta?)

As I write this, my son is watching a most disturbing show on the History Channel, History Undercover: The Last Surrender.

It tells the story of 2nd Lt. Hiroo Onoda, who went into the Phillipine jungle in the last days of the 2nd World War, and only surrendered… in 1974.

I listen to this man, who stayed at war all those years because he believed in his Emperor and his Empire, with a near-religious fervor. And I begin to understand the feelings of the Cabinet members, the generals, who had fought an army made up of this manner of man… and why they dropped atomic weapons rather than invade these people’s homelands.

I begin to wonder about the war on terrorism… no, let’s be honest; the war on Islamicist fundamentalism. I am unwilling to give up; that way lies the death of liberty, for my wife, my friends, my children.

Never.

But… having said that… I wonder, with trepidation, what will happen, before this war is won.

“Drama Queen:

One whose loud cries of angst, and impassioned pleas for allies and succor, are inversely proportional to the REAL problem they’re having.”
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As I was driving into work today, local news-radio stations were discussing the execution of an unrepentant terrorist.

(Note to the inevitable impassioned anti-abortion protester: Take a chill pill. I am a “practicing” Catholic. I haven’t got it right yet… ahem, well. Doesn’t matter, really; I am certain that assasinating someone in cold blood is not God’s idea of a brilliant pastoral argument for the sanctity of innocent human life. If that doesn’t make sense to you, oh Inevitable Respondent, go buy some tinfoil for your hat. Paul Hill is no more a holy martyr than Josef Mengele… or, in the fullness of time, Osama bin Wormfood.)

The money quote, to my way of thinkin’, was by the PR deputy for the Department of Corrections, on the WOKV AM radio interview, about how spooky it was to hear thunder and see lightning all about the windows, before Hill’s statement and as he was executed.

I Could Not Make This Up If I Tried ™.

I am, as a rule, cautious about the notion that any given act of nature is a Sign From God. The way I understand it, it’s OUR actions which are supposed to be a sign of God’s love for the world, and His work in it.

That being said, it’s kind of hard NOT to want to hear the voice of God, Old Testament style, trying to get this fanatic to LISTEN UP and get a clue.

Heh.

May God have mercy on his soul… and may Hill have realized he needed to ask for forgiveness, rather than exult to the end in a “righteousness” which is only fit “to be spat out…".

Gahhhhh.

If you’re going to read this next piece, or add it to the Voices project, do me a favor?

Promise that you’ll read the whole thing… the WHOLE thing… before you pass judgment.
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… which allows me to work a 24 hour shift;

to come home, and run errands for my son, because Sharpie is stuck at university and can’t dump her responsibilities

to stay awake, so I see my gal when she gets home, late, from work

and…

to write something for Michele.

3 out of 4 ain’t bad.

Like others, of late, I have been ambivalent about sharing what I felt, during the terrible day. I …

am having trouble putting it in print.

But it is important.

I will.

Soon.

Occasionally, I struggle with a long standing resolution not to be envious, or jealous.

THIS offers me one of those occasions of temptation.

Must… not… channel… green… eyes…

Go read it and rejoice in the Moore-thwapping.

In keeping with what I posted earlier…

Originally found at Livejournal:

Let me tell you of two marvelous reads that can be had in your local comics store.

IF you hurry.

First off, an intriguing offering from Mad Norwegian Press and Image Comics, Faction Paradox…

…A “War in Heaven” is raging between time-active cultures, each seeking to usurp control of history. Into this conflict comes Faction Paradox–a group of time terrorists whose appetite for chaos threatens to subvert the entire timeline. Part story, part history and part puzzle-box, this is a chronicle of protocol and paranoia in a War where the greatest victory of all is to hold on to your own past.

In 1774, England’s eccentric King George III gathers the world’s powers–including the American colonials, the Prussians and the enigmatic emissaries of Faction Paradox–in London for a hunt of epic proportions…

Having read Issue 1: WOWSERS. Ambassadors from somewhere eldritch, pointing bones, court intrigue, American Masonic lodges (and, perhaps, other illuminati?), and mammoths. This brew is rich and heady indeed.

There may be those among you who recognize the title of the series. Yes, you’re right; this is a spinoff… in a way… of another famed science fiction series. But it’s flavor is such that it’s at least as accurate to call it a spinoff of the series’ UNIVERSE. The author, Lawrence Miles, swears high and low that the series stands on its own, and needs NO reading of any prior books. I take him at his word.

Go start reading this.

AFTER you buy 1602, that is, because it’s disappearing from shelves even faster.

Why?

Neil Gaiman wrote it.

Marvel let him have access to all the characters in the Marvel universe.

He chose to take them all… and insert them in a slightly altered history.

Think of Nick Fury… as Sir Nicholas Fury, intelligencer to Elizabeth Gloriana. Instead of Dr. John Dee, Her Majesty relies for scrying on… Dr. Strange.

And it just keeps getting better.

Do yourself a favor… and grab both of these, and follow the series. They’re both mini-series, so you’re not stuck with an indefinite commitment. And if your tastes are anywhere near mine, you’ll love these.

De Doc sez… check ‘em out!

I have had a couple of folks ask if I was going to port all my old LiveJournal entries here to this new blog.

I thought about that.

But some of the LJ postings are just chatty stuff, for people who know me personally. I only recently started writing with an eye to a wider readership, and my content on LJ tends to reflect that.

So, what I’ve decided to do is pick and choose.

I will look over some of my more recent LJ entries, and pull over the content which I think is

(a) Really Cool, and
(b) worth sharing around the blogosphere.

If you have any old favorites from my LJ, let me know; I’ll give thought to adding them to the crossover cue.

I ran across this post tonight, catching up with the news of the world.

Might not be to everyone’s taste; but it speaks to the war I firmly believe we are in, and has the very voice of the Grandmaster who pioneered “future history”. A voice that has been silent for some years.

I know that “Tom Paine” isn’t Heinlein. But even the echo of Heinlein’s voice, saying (once again) what needs to be said… well, that more than satisfies MY Really Cool criteria.

I am not “moving on", because at the end of the war, I want to be able to have that kind of talk with my grandchildren.

Who, I trust, won’t have to think about whether they are free.

Here’s to Little Green Footballs, who put me on to the essay.

I am leaving for an SCA event this weekend. I will be back Sunday night.

If you’re real nice, I may try and find pictures of just what that involves.

Go hunt some snarks with me!

Having been a speaker at several science fiction conventions, I have had the pleasure of meeting a variety of celebrities in my time… and a distinct lack of pleasure, after meeting others.

Celebrities are just as prone to idiocy as the rest of us. (If that comes as a surprise to anyone reading this, I would like to suggest here and now that this might not be the blog you’re looking for…) I have learned this over the years from personal experience, and as a rule, most “news stories” about the earnest political beliefs of Major Industry Figures bore me.

Every little once in a while, though, one of these stories catches my eye… and this one is a prime example of the vocalizations of the species Celebritus Cranio-Rectalis:
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It occured to me the other day, as I browsed, that most people in the United States have a fundamental difficulty … a blind spot, if you will… when it comes to understanding the conflict we are engaged in.

Some of you, I trust, are familiar with the Gadsden flag of the Revolutionary War period:

The rattlesnake flag was apparently very popular, giving rise to several variations.

One of those variations was the first US naval flag, the Navy Jack:

The slogan, in turn, has been used in broadsides and posters, and now can be seen on bumperstickers and T-shirts. Almost any literate American will recognize the sentiment as part of our heritage, in some wise or another.

That sentiment is quintessentially American. Leave us alone. Let us make our decisions, believe as we wish to, live as we choose to. Let us BE.

Now, not all Americans think that we have been left alone. There are all manner of people, across the political spectrum, who think that they’re not being allowed the freedom to be make their own choices. Some are, perhaps, more accurate in their perceptions than others. But for the moment, let’s just note that all these pundits appeal to the same notion: that people are being subjected to some kind of interference with their freedom. That they are being denied their rights by some interfering busybody.

As philosophies go, this is not exactly the stuff of empire. It is hard, in fact, to imagine a LESS “imperialist” philosophy. The “Don’t Tread on Me” meme does not thunder for the inevitable expansion of the US. It doesn’t call for hegemony, dominion, or conquest. It does not call on its adherents to subscribe to the One True Way. The “Don’t Tread On Me” meme is a call to be free of interference, a call to make choices freely, in accordance with people’s personal beliefs.

That notion is, to put it gently, highly unusual. Throughout most of history, societies taught their people that some group had a right to intrude on others’ lives, to order them about, for their own good. Whether this authority derived from naked force, or governmental needs, or religious mandate, this belief system ultimately held that Someone Knew Best… and if you weren’t Someone, you had to bend to the will of those who Knew Best.

That’s not our way. Even as we accede to a government presence in our lives, there is the deep-seated, quiet belief that we have a right to be left to our own beliefs, to choose for ourselves. Few things make us more restive than the notion that we will be compelled by force of law to follow someone else’s religious or philosophical beliefs.

But now, that assertion is being challenged by our enemies. And make no mistake; these are not opponents at debate, but enemies. We are challenged by people who believe that we have no right to behave as we choose. These people believe that we must all submit to the will of their God… whether we like it or not.

These enemies are convinced They Know Best. They are convinced that they are righteous in their actions… blessed as they killed innocent women and children.

They Know Best, and we have no right to do anything else but submit. Let us alone, while they live by their beliefs? Not a chance. They Know Best.

In such straits, discussions of “root causes” miss the point. Calls to “walk a mile in THEIR shoes” are misinformed.

We are not in a debate with people who wish to live, and let live.

We are faced with people who are bent on making us submit to THEIR beliefs.

We want to be let be. Our enemies want our subjugation, our obedience.

I note, with some satisfaction, that the US Navy is now flying the Revolutionary era Navy Jack, which bears the rattlesnake, and the American wish…

Don’t Tread On Me.

Pardon the chaos; I am getting settled in here, with a little help from my friends.

Look to see me posting in earnest Real Soon Now.

Venomous Kate was here.
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