Having a game of Talisman tonight maybe 6:30.
If you know me an are interested just show up.
That’s how you do it
Posted: February 8, 2009 by datechguy in opinion/newsTags: honorable left, reality, War on Terror
There is opinion and reality, a lot of people tend to confuse them. One of those people however is not Tom Switzer:
WHETHER it was worth doing remains highly doubtful, and how it will end remains to be seen. But it looks as if the US is achieving some kind of success in Iraq. That is quite a mouthful from someone who strongly opposed the war from the outset.
But these are the facts: Coalition military and Iraqi civilian casualties are down significantly. The level of violence is the lowest in six years. Iraq’s economic growth levels are today nearly one-third higher than under Saddam Hussein. The Sadrist militia and other Shia militant groups have been halted. The Sunni Arabs who once formed the heart of the Iraqi insurgency are among the most steadfast coalition allies in the battle against al-Qa’ida. The sectarian civil war has ended.
Note that this doesn’t effect his opinion on the war itself:
Now I’ve long believed the Iraq invasion was unnecessary. The incompetence of president George W. Bush, and in particular the neo-conservative architects of this misbegotten venture – which has cost the US dearly in not just blood and treasure but also prestige and credibility – merely adds underlining and an exclamation point. Any threat that Saddam posed could have been dealt with via the tried and tested policy of containment (UN sanctions, naval blockade, no-fly zone).
I think that opinion is dead wrong but it is an opinion that a reasonable person can hold. Yet he doesn’t allow that opinion to change his perception of facts on the ground.
The final line says it all.
… for now, as the largely violence-free weekend elections demonstrated, the situation on the ground has improved dramatically. Too bad many opponents of the war won’t concede that simple fact.
One who can see how things are is worthy of respect.
Selling some services this week
Posted: February 8, 2009 by datechguy in employment, personal, techTags: fyi, tech services
Well the job picture isn’t getting much brighter but the services I’m offering are doing better. I made enough last week to pay for logmein for the month and part of the eBay fees. If I can sell two of each of the services I offer per week I can completely replace the income from my job and do this full time. (Maybe even take on a 10 hour a week intern!) If I can do half of that I can replace unemployment.
That’s likely farther down the road and if an appealing full time job comes then I’d only do this part time since the license won’t expire for 16 months.
Either way we will see and not to sound too mercenary but if you have computer issue remember I’m simply an e-mail and an online connection away.
Meanwhile in the land of Obama jr…
Posted: February 7, 2009 by datechguy in local stuffTags: economy, irony
While the President is making trade enemies on a global scale. Here in Massachusetts our Governor Obama Lite Deval Patrick is making trade war on a more local scale.
Gov. John Lynch said yesterday he will offer a new law to protect New Hampshire businesses from being forced to collect Massachusetts sales taxes.
“We need to send a clear message that Massachusetts and other states shall not impose their sales taxes on New Hampshire businesses,” Lynch said.Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-Exeter, will be the bill’s prime sponsor and will be joined by other Senate and House members. Lynch and Attorney General Kelly Ayotte announced Thursday that New Hampshire has filed a brief at the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Council protesting efforts to force Town Fair Tire Center to pay more than $108,000 in back-taxes on sales to Massachusetts residents at its New Hampshire stores.
Lynch termed the tax collection effort as “outrageous” in announcing the legal action the state will take.
The idiocy on using state resources to do something clearly unconstitutional is so breathtaking even our papers are noticing it:
How ironic it is that the state that once had the gumption to start a war over unfair taxation imposed from afar is now trying to spread its tax tentacles beyond its own borders.
That’s right: Massachusetts, the state that boldly took on the tax-happy British Empire, is now doing a little imperial number of its own. And instead of depending on musket-toting militiamen, this time we’re using hapless store clerks as our frontline troops.
and he that sows the wind will reap too:
Massachusetts ought to be careful of the whirlwind it might reap. The Bay State has the second lowest sales tax in New England. One has to wonder whether neighboring states with higher rates, like Rhode Island and Connecticut, might get the same hunger for the cross-border enforcement of a “use tax.
I really thought that the country might reject Obama because of our experiences with little obama Patrick. I was wrong but will be really shocked if he wins re-election here.
