Archive for June, 2009

Suckers

Posted: June 8, 2009 by datechguy in opinion/news
Tags: , ,

The story of the Supreme Courts rejection of a challenge to “Don’t ask Don’t tell” has one particularly interesting line in it:

The Supreme Court on Monday turned down a challenge to the Pentagon policy forbidding gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military, granting a request by the Obama administration.

That line and that fact has to absolutely mortify the GLBT groups that promoted this president.

The truth of course is the democrats have controlled congress since 2006 and could have challenged President Bush on this by passing a law repealing it, they declined.

They could easily pass a law repealing it now The bill would be three lines long. They choose not to.

The Gay groups that assume that President Obama is simply lying about his opposition to Gay Marriage and the universities that restrict ROTC because of the military’s policy are deluding themselves.

You are being used. Suckers!

VDH at SISU

Posted: June 8, 2009 by datechguy in opinion/news, personal
Tags: , , , ,

SISU points to Victor Davis Hanson’s article here concerning how talk is nice but it can’t compete with the reality of action:

So it is with foreign policy as well. Obama’s make-over will have positive short-term effects, as he reminds the world ad nauseam that he is black, sorta, kinda from a Muslim family, and the son of an African who is more like the world than he like most Americans-and not George Bush and not a thieving capitalist and not a warmongering imperialist and not (fill in the blanks). (My favorite Cairo line was the apology on Gitmo where inmates have laptops and Mediterranean food, spoken to millions whose societies kill and maim tens of thousands in Gulags on a yearly basis.)

But in the long run?

He hits against human nature. Most of you readers-in business, law, the professions-don’t continually praise your friends, competitors, and enemies (e.g., “Glad you got that job, Home Depot-we at Lowes didn’t really need it; what a wonderful bid you submitted, Hilton, much better than ours here at the Four Seasons; it was my fault here at Goldman Sachs that I didn’t match your better offer at Credit Suisse; I grew up working for the Royals, and can empathize why you Yankees don’t like us; it’s time we at Citibank apologized to Chase for our past cutthroat competition; we are just too arrogant over here at Delta and wanted to let you guys at United know that.”)

Sorry

The world sadly does not work that way. If one were to do that, we know the outcome: a group of rival execs would say “Hmmm, time to steal market share from Citibank, or Hilton isn’t really up to the arena anymore, let’s move in on its Western region, etc.”

Only someone who has not been in the real world, but only marketed rhetoric without consequences (e.g., if Obama had a bad day organizing, or legislating, was he fired?) could believe such things.

Like the farmer in the story all the talk in the world didn’t mean a thing but the reality of action made all the difference. Eventually both economically and militarily reality will set in. Our foes and competitors were always wary of President Bush, particularly after Iraq. They never quite knew what he would do. However they see president Obama and have a pretty good idea what they can get away with.

Reading both articles I can’t help but think of my father and this story… (more…)

I’ve had a semi busy weekend enjoying myself at graduation parties, staining the porch and doing various errands to prepare the place for my oldest’s graduation party. Yesterday I managed to injure my left leg a bit while running to make a play. I guess I haven’t learned that my body isn’t as young as it used to be or as fit as it should be.

I have been involved in a lengthy comment exchange concerning Mancow and waterboarding with a gentleman named Murph. It’s ironic since I really wasn’t interested in the topic thus the short post but the exchanges on it were very long. I’ve pretty much given him the last word with a reply to that effect. Feel free to check them here. If anyone else is interested enough to respond instead I’ll certainly allow any back and forth on that thread that continues.

I think the blog outing is bad form and discourteous but my comment is actually along a different line. Anyone who chooses to do this kind of thing on the internet really can’t expect to maintain any anonymity. There are too many ways to trace people using technology. Considering the decline in courtesy these days I think it is wishful thinking to expect to receive it when passions get heated in a discussion.

Had a very positive interview this week combined with my extension of unemployment things a looking a tad better in the short run.

We are renting a dunk tank for my son’s graduation party. It should prove an interesting draw.

I picked up a large amount of Dr. Who audios last month for my birthday. I still have several hours of them to listen to. I need a new CD rack as the quantity I have has outgrown the rack I have, but i can’t seem to find a rack that matches the vertical wood base one I have. I spotted it at of all places a Salvation Army store or $8 and it was absolutely perfect. Unfortunately the closest thing I can find is this one at Amazon. I can’t seem to find a straight one with the same base.

Oh and speaking of the CD’s the Companion chronicles backfeature on the new Dr. Who CD’s is simply wonderful.

I really don’t think simple misspeaking is newsworthy, Omaha, Obama, Osama all are close enough that a person can easily misspeak. I didn’t care much when people made too much of President Bush’s misspeaking so I don’t see why I should pile on others.

And whatever his name is he seems determined not to lose the war on terror on his watch even if he has to do his best president Bush imitation to do it.

Have you noticed that simple faux pas in courtesy tend to make a lot more trouble than actual things that countries do against each other?

Is it just me or is the Morning Joe sponsored by Starbucks business tacky? It’s a good business move but It doesn’t taste right.

I’ve never cared for the taste of coffee or most beers come to think of it. That makes me kinda odd.

Oh BTW I just haven’t been in the mood to liveblog Morning Joe lately but I will as the mood strikes me.

It is a wonderful social skill to learn how to nurse a shot of good scotch so it lasts a very long time. Not only is it economical but I’ve never seen the attraction of being drunk or high for that matter.

On the subject I very much dislike Jim Braude’s promo for his show on WTKK stating that a person who says they’ve never used pot is either a liar or unfit for public office. Great example Jim. By your definition I’ve done my best to raise my kids to be unfit for office.

Then again that WOULD explain a whole lot concerning Massachusetts politics.

Considering the way George Tiller’s murder is being reported by the MSN the only way to prevent demonetization of Abortion Clinics protesters is to declare Clinics unofficial military recruitment locations.

You know the sound of the Ice Cream truck still makes me smile. That would explain my waistline however it rarely has root beer Popsicles.

Then again i like Music Box Dancer so that might be the reason.

Back in the days when I blogged for HiWired I was obliged to post daily, blogging can sometimes be a trap because once you start to get hits you feel obliged to post. That takes all the fun out of blogging for me.

Sort of like professional Magic, I started playing the game because i twas a good game that didn’t involve heavy thought as opposed to most games I play. I refuse to build complicated decks. When I want a thinking game there is always Republic of Rome.

You know it’s amazing how well the original Star Trek holds up over time. It’s even more amazing how funny William Shatner is. His work in Boston Legal is just classic and his priceline stuff is priceless, but they pay him for it anyway.

Of course he’s not Groucho, or the Three Stooges, and a good thing for him too because then he’d be dead and not working.

Then again the stooges and the Marx brothers are still making good money, better money than me and they all stopped working years ago.

They make an awful lot of people happy even though they aren’t working, I bet for the right money we can get the ladies of The View to stop working too. That would make even more people happy and nobody would have to be dead.

I know you might not think that is very funny but being in the majority is no guarantee of being right; then again if you want good humor you can always hit the Ice Cream Truck, of course it is 11 p.m. EST so you’d have to wait till tomorrow unless you are on the west coast.

Come to think of it I don’t see good humor bars anywhere these days, no wonder comedy is in such a decline. I’d better end this post now before it declines further. So in this case it would be further adieu.

Update: Mudville says Bad Form too but I maintain there is no such thing as anonymity of the web as I pointed out in my porn post (which really should have gotten more rule 5 hits than it did but I didn’t know what rule 5 was when I posted it).

gallifrey11My review of the first entry of Big Finish’s Gallifrey series. Weapon of Choice can be found at Amazon.com here.

This is an independent spin off of the Doctor Who series featuring Leela, Romana and K9 all companions of the 4th doctor. It focus on events on Gallifrey all of which take place prior to the last great time war.