COLLECTIVE MADNESS


“Soft despotism is a term coined by Alexis de Tocqueville describing the state into which a country overrun by "a network of small complicated rules" might degrade. Soft despotism is different from despotism (also called 'hard despotism') in the sense that it is not obvious to the people."

Friday, September 08, 2006

PatriotPost.US - A Great Website

Here is a great site run by a group of Patriots out of Chattanooga, Tn. Three times a week they send out one of the finest email newsletters you will read anywhere. They also have a fine on-line resource library. Check out the PatriotPost.us

For instance, Did you know that Vietnam Vet Max Cleland is currently being treated for Post traumatic stress disorder brought on by the invasion of Iraq? I didn't.

Is Iraq reawakening shell shock in other war vets?

Max Cleland, former Democrat Senator from Georgia and Vietnam War veteran, is being treated for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which he claims is related not to his own service in Vietnam, but to the war in Iraq. Cleland has always opposed the war—except when he voted for it—and he has never been shy about mentioning his Vietnam service and the injuries he sustained there.

Let’s make no mistake here. Cleland served his country honorably, and he is owed a great debt of gratitude for his service and for paying such a high price for that service. (For the record, Cleland lost both legs and one arm not in combat, but by mishandling a live hand grenade.) As with fellow anti-war Demos John Murtha and John Kerry, the liberals want to believe that Cleland’s military service puts him above reproach for his views. Frankly, it does not.

It is not clear whether viewing television coverage of the Iraqi conflict causes delayed post-traumatic stress disorder in Vietnam or Korean War veterans. Demos have embraced the theory that is does, pointing to the steep increase in the number of cases that have been reported between 1999 and 2004. Psychiatrist and author Dr. Sally Satel, in the 21 August Weekly Standard, pointed out that this increase is not necessarily triggered by the Iraq war. For starters, Vietnam veterans are reaching retirement age, a time filled with anxiety about their identity, their future, their mortality and the mortality of spouses and loved ones. Also, there is a tendency among Veterans Affairs workers to assume that depression and anxiety among veterans must automatically be related to war service, when these symptoms could be a product of civilian life or may have been with the veteran prior to military service.

Let us be clear: We have nothing but the utmost respect for the men and women who have served in combat to defend this great nation, and we’re inclined to give even highly partisan Democrats like Cleland the benefit of the doubt in matters of wartime service. However, if this former U.S. Senator is using PTSD merely to make a political statement before a midterm election, shame on him.



This is a great site with a wealth of information and deserves our support.

83 comments:

  1. Whit,
    A timely topic. There's little doubt that we will see PTSD in some percentage of the returning forces from Iraq and Afganistan. Since it's general acknowledgement by the medical community there has been debate over causaton,treatment, reocccurence, and a host of other points.
    In the case of former Senator Max Cleland the injuries were self induced, as our host Whit pointed out. Initially these facts were either not known or surpressed by the media during his initial run for office.
    It is of little surprise that the day after President Bush finished a three day tour outling for the public on where we stand on the I & A wars that the Democrats would use Senator Cleland to counter and attempt to change the subject. The democrats objective is to focus on the war, it prosecution and it's cost. They also want to bring up the economy as a topic. Those are their current themes.
    Republicans are not looking in the rear view mirror for their positions but remain focused on the very real threats of NGO's acquiring NBC armaments and using them on the USA. Iran we know is close. The developing issue far outweigh what has been done in the past. If a man has a gun to your head you do not open an inquiry into the history of small arms, you act to save yourself at that time and place.
    Using Sen. Cleland is a sad commentary on how low Democrats will go to influence voters with emotion rather than reason. However given we are human with emotions it works for them on a scale of around 35-40% of the voters. "I don't think, I just emote, but I vote" approach.

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  2. buddy,

    re: Major Jill Metzger, USAF

    She has been found!

    No report yet on the particulars.

    I hope the government of Kyrgyzstan did not resort to strong-arm tactics to gain intelligence. That would really ruin my weekend.

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  3. Allen,
    I'm sure she's joyous. I'm sure her family is ecstatic.
    When we are so far removed from those we would protect, who are protecting us it is a hopeless feeling.
    Lets hope she's OK.

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  4. Several months ago, I reviewed some research predictive of service connected disabilities, PTSD included. I will see if I can dig it up for general consumption. As I recall, however, the conflicts in both Afghanistan and Iraq appear to be on a normative track. Of course, the probability of PTSD increases with the extent of combat experiences, in general; consequently, the current multiple deployments, increase greatly that potentiality.

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  5. habu_3,

    re: Jill Metzger

    I didn't mean to be trite; her release IS truly good news and the answer to prayer, I am certain.

    My venom goes to those who could seriously doubt the efficacy of whatever means necessary to affect her release.

    Semper Fi

    One for all, and all for one!

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  6. Allen,
    I detected not slight towards our release servicewoman. I know we're both glad she's intact.
    I too was looking at some PTSD info a year or so ago.
    The coverage will blossom to full bloom the closer we get to the election. The Dems have just been handed a real tough issue to finesse until after the election and that is the POYUS request for legislation to prosecute the 9-11 gang.

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  7. POYUS? Did I just add to the entire Constitutional structure?
    But what could it be?
    Where's Doug? or Buddy or Rufus?

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  8. Any objection to “ilia capitolina” coming aboard? Could be interesting, the writer is a bright bulb.

    If “yes”, how to finesse it without offending Wretchard.

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  9. Allen,
    As time goes by (Casablanca) we'll need to make sure our content here isn't all old military guys ruminating over the past.
    Perhaps we could have topics germane to a broader range..say.

    Cottage cheese vs yogurt.
    The Golden Mean
    The Really Mean
    Flowerbox care and repair
    Then we can turn those discussion to sucking chest wound battlefield care, or java in the jungle.

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  10. I cannot tell a lie.

    I lifted the entire piece on Cleland from the Patriot Post website. I'll try to be more careful with that. When you see something indented on both sides, it's a quote from someone else.

    Maybe Cleland is suffering from the post-election affliction that hit Al Gore after 2000. In other words, maybe he just "lost it."

    First Bobalharb smitten, now Allen?

    No objections, no suggestions.

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  11. Allen I think the idea as conceived was for the EB to be open to all at anytime on any subject ... I think Wrethcard is on board with the concept as it provides his site with a purity of discussion that is the milieu he ostensibly desires at that site.
    I always just put in a comment over there that the Bar is open. You might throw in a few names, but please not one particular femme sur le feu (losely "flaming woman")
    Semper Fi

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  12. Whit..as far as I know we're following all the rules the NY Times and Reuters follow in reporting so, misquotes,outright plagerism, attributes to those who didn't say what was reported are all A-OK.

    Actually I think our conversations far exceed the "standards" we seee displayed at the "Grey Lady" or RetouchReuters.

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  13. I've been irritating people over at Kudlowsmoneypolitics.blogspot.com/


    Guys, the election IS Important, right? Okay,

    Harold Ford Jr. has come from 12 points back to 1 down. Now, if you know anything about Tn, you will know that this is "Earth Shattering" News.

    SO, how did the young, black, liberal, democratic man from Memphis make up 11 points on a well-financed, well-supported, telegenic, white, conservative Republican Candidate in one month?

    He's run one ad, over and over, in the last month (I live right south of Memphis, so I see all of his ads.) He ran several different ads until he got to this one, and then he just kept running it, over and over. I guess we can assume his internal polling told him it was a winner.

    It's now a statistical toss-up, with a bullet for the Dem.

    Ford's Ad.

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  14. whit,

    Is ilia capitolina a femina?


    habu,

    Auto da fé, say?

    ReplyDelete
  15. Cantwell helped lobbyist's clients
    Sen. Maria Cantwell helped arrange more than $11 million in federal money in the past year for projects benefiting clients of a lobbyist who is advising her re-election campaign and still owes her money from a personal loan.

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  16. rufus,

    re: Harold Ford, Jr.

    You may recall that several months ago I proposed a 2008 Dem ticket of Bayh and Ford. Some people said, "Who?"

    Since his coming to Congress, I have taken every opportunity to see Ford interviewed, for personal reasons. He is a Rep. nightmare; the guy is a fiscal conservative. Worse yet, he writes:
    “I support our troops and our goals in Iraq. But I will not support a resolution praising a government that wants to grant amnesty to terrorists fighting our troops. There is only one option for such people: we should hunt them down and punish them. Amnesty is not an option.” 6/6/06

    You might say Ford is the much desired Scoop Jackson Democrat.

    I will grant, his old man is a certifiable nut.

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  17. That's right, Genilmen, he picked up 11 points in a month walking around in a soy bean field, and talking about biofuels.

    Folks, the American people have had all the Ay rabs they can stand. They want to hear a "Positive" message about getting off the Mad Mullahs Soup Line.

    I take a look at Rasmussen every day. Trust me, every time Bush says something about Ethanol, or alternative fuels his polls tick up.

    Write/E-Mail your Congressman and wise them up. If you don't think it's important go over to Moonbattery and take a look-see at who will be running the committees if the Dems pull this one off.

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  18. Allen, I told my son two years, ago that Ford just might be our first black president. He's a "Master" politician.

    I laugh my ass off; he goes on Kudlow and tells him and his audience all of the fiscally conservative stuff he wants to hear, and then he goes home and runs the most outrageous, vicious, deceptive partisan ads you can imagine.

    I don't hold it against him; the first duty of a politician is to get elected. But, Boy, he has a Political antennae unseen since a little known Arkansas Governor that snuck up on'em one time.

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  19. Rufus,
    i just finished the Ford Ad. It's not hard to see how it resonates, especially in a country whose focus on any subject is a half hour.
    However it is the political season and politicians will say and do whatever it takes ...keep in mind the word I used the other day opprobrium. It is used almost exclusively in the political arena.
    Couple what ever small measure "Scoop Jackson" Democrat he may be along with what looks like windfall oil profits and you gain 11 points in the polls.
    But as they say in politics a day is week and a week is forever. The landscape will change. Bush is now on the stump with a hard message for the Democrats to duck before the mid terms. The trial of the 9-11 Islams.
    And if I prove corrrect vs Dr and we strike Iran prior to the election it will change everything and Bush knows that.

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  20. Habu, never underestimate the power of a "Positive" Message.

    The people aren't ready to "cut and run," but they're tired of pictures of A rabs fucking up in their living rooms. And, they're tired of hearing about the Goddamned war.

    The image of supporting American farmers, buying American products, and blowing a raspberry to the A rabs is a very "Positive" one.

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  21. Rufus,
    i couldn't agree more on what you just said. Hell I'm right in there with 'em.
    All I'm say'in is that IF we hit Iran with a big air strike to knock out their nuke capabilities (even for a short time) it will be cathartic to the "beating we seem to be taking in Iraq.
    Oil prices are dropping, we just discovered a "motherload " type field right near our refineries, so things will change.
    But I definitely agree that sentiment for the Iraq experiment is running thin, very thin.

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  22. Habu, I was trying to make the point over at Kudlow's that Bush needs to finish up with the 9 - 11 stuff, then get his out in the field where he has representatives in trouble and drag them out to an ethanol refinery, and pump a few gallons of E-85.

    He's Got to make his point in the OIF arena, but then, he's got to go out and win an election.

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  23. rufus & habu,

    re: Harold Ford, Jr.

    Ford benefits greatly from the three-way Repub primary bloodletting, where a guy with little major league political experience but deep pockets won. Ford started hammering the Repubs during that brutal primary, for childish petulance. Further, the Corker has had various stances on abortion and refuses to debate, for example. And, as Rufus indicates, Ford picks his battles carefully.

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  24. Sorry, meant no disrespect to Mr. Corker; I should have written Corker, not "the" Corker.

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  25. Allen, I think Ford benefitted some from the Republican Primary, but Corker didn't come out of the Primary too bad. Corker was in good shape in the polls until Ford started running the Biofuels ad. Then it was a rocket blast.

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  26. Well, that's a race I really haven't kept up with so my input is really weak.
    I do totally agree that the President has got to campaign for those party members in need of help and pumping ethanol is probably good. No doubt his oil buddies wouldn't be too happy and as Ben Franklin said about elections.."There's noth'in better than ready money" meaning you got it to run with. Big oils got money. Of course they aren't gonna give much to Democrats who would nationalized the entire industry if they had the power.
    Time and again Bush has been, in his word, "misunderestimated"..he's got Carl Rowe but he's also got Roger Ailes who was Reagans genius and is the man who orchestrates Rush Limbaugh. Ailes keeps an almost invisible profile but he's there....I'm still bett'n on a mil-strike to change the entire dynamic.

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  27. rufus,

    As I said, the guy picks his battles carefully. It doesn't hurt that his family has a combined political life of, what, 200 years?

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  28. I juz got me a whif o campain talk so i dun thought well, P-Tater got no vote but ican talk 'em up.

    now i hear dat tennisee is gitt'in close up. i say we plays da possum card..you know, steve irwin died for possum freedom type thing..den we show dat Ford fella ina barn jacket wit a gun kill'in granny's parrokeet.
    wol paint him a parokeete killa. and a puppet ov Jimma carta.
    din we gits him in a forsum wit OJ for golf

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  29. Allen, you're right. Like you said, his family are bat-shit crazy, all, but I don't think any of them have EVER lost an election. They Know how to Getter Dun.

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  30. Habu, Rasmussen was on Kudlow's show, today. He figures it like I do; right now, it's close, but Repubs will win.

    In any case, if it's close, or leaning Repub. Dubya won't strike. (In My Opinion.)

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  31. my cousin Possum"reuters"tater culd whip up a fake picture ov Ford with Bin Ladel shak'in hans in front of da old WTC build'ins, and rumor it up dat he helped AQ kill parokeetes too...maybe change dat to cocker spaniels 'cause evr'body like 'em

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  32. habu,

    re: Iran strike

    It is hard to see how the President will get the cover he needs from his own party for a strike on Iran. The only exception that comes to mind would be some incomprehensibly stupid provocation by Iran. Not being fools, I think the Iranians will ground the ball and run out the clock, hoping for a Demo victory in the mid-term. But, as you know, the Muslims never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity, so there is always hope.

    Looking at Gitmo, I think the proposed legislation is about five years and a dollar short. Even if the President can herd the Repub cats in the Senate, something he has not accomplished easily for a while, the judges are going to tie things up forever and a day.

    Where does that leave us? Hell's bells, I haven't a clue. Maybe another glass of vino will stimulate the flow of creative juices. Can't hurt, right?

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  33. Ah, Possumtater, good to see you, tonite. You made me laugh, again.

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  34. now mizta Rufus i sees it different. close you hiy 'em..show the muscle..folks love dat air stuff,'specialif it hits nuclar bad places.
    plus i think "W" is "W" and he do what he think is right ..he got sum Reagan in him like dat..another reason fo a early hit..George Soros and da dems already have articles of impeachment drawn up..day gonna tie "W" down like watergate,irangate,whitewater,sick abuse..dats a giv'n .. he'll be spended all his time defensive and his folks know it..da WH hired on sump'in like hundred+ lawyers already...

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  35. possumtater,

    Can you hear Ford, now: James Earl, who? Yes, I will have more orange juice, please. Tiger Woods and I are buds, didn't you hear?

    This dude is the real deal. Gonna be harder to shake than a possum up a simmon tree.

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  36. Allen, the first day I vaccilated between thinking that was a brilliant move, and thinking "I don't Know."

    On reflection, I think it was brilliant.

    "Okay Boys, we've got all we need. Now, you don't think I've been treating the murdering scum right it's your turn. But, did I mention, 300 Million Americans are watching?"

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  37. I leave the keyboard for a minute to visit the "library" and P-Tater becomes Dic-Tater. I'm sending him to possum obedience school. I've tried everything else I know. I caught him the other day with a dvd called PossumGirls Gone Wild..I thought they were all wild til I looked at a few hours of the DVD,

    ReplyDelete
  38. now mizta Rufus i sees it different. close you hiy 'em..show the muscle..folks love dat air stuff,'specialif it hits nuclar bad places.
    plus i think "W" is "W" and he do what he think is right ..he got sum Reagan in him like dat.



    Tater, you jus might be Right.

    ReplyDelete
  39. I've got to bow to you two on the Ford election. I haven't followed it so I'm shoot'in blanks as far as any real "sense" of where the campaign stands.

    I just know that McClelland thought he could easily beat Lincoln in the middle of a Civil War and one battle ostensibly turned it into a blowout for Lincoln

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  40. Good luck with that possum obedience school. We had one of those, here, but the headmaster was a bit addle-brained; he forgot to wear his steel cup, one day.

    Man, that was a "Mess." Even the paramedic fainted.

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  41. One thing - don't get me wrong, I kind of hope Ford wins. I appreciate talent, and I'm not for sure he wouldn't be a pretty good Senator. The little brat is "likeable." I'd kind of like to see how he turns out.

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  42. p.s. I can say that because there's absolutely no way the Dems can take the Senate.

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  43. Americas frustration is in part the lack of seemingly overwhelming superiority on the battlefield in Iraq. The door to door battle doesn't "show" well.
    But give them a massive strike against the people that took our embassy, blew up two embassies in Africa, and is funding every terrorist group it can get a bagman to and you'll have people high five'in all over the streets..we like to beat up ,not get a draw or split decision but a knock out ..we can knock out Iran in a spectacular display of might. And Americans love might.

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  44. Rufus, The school I've chosen is in Gitmo ..P-tater will come back the same but different. They're gonna make him pull KP and not let him eat any scraps .he'll shape up..and the tuition is do'in that "cup" thing on Islams that made the paramedic faint.

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  45. Now, Habu, on that I have to absolutely "Agree" with you. We are overwhelmingly "Type A's" over here. We hate the piddlin around.

    The Dems, Euros, Diplomats would Scream, and Howl; the Republican politicians would cringe and wring their hands in fear, but, The Americans Would Party in the Streets.

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  46. Allen,
    What would be the advantage in waiting until after the mid terms to strike Iran?

    ReplyDelete
  47. They better have a lot of hard-drives empty and ready to go; they're gonna know the name of evry Jihadi in the Universe.

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  48. Yeah Rufus
    My tea leaves say that:
    1. The air arm hasn't been used lately
    2. the longer we wait the more they have time to prepare
    3. presidents almost always get big "spikes" in polls from airstrikes
    4. everyone knows Iran "has it coming to them"
    5. everybody howls at everything we do anyway so WTF.
    6. we can launch now without having to consult with anyone for overflight permission
    7. the air force and navy are already starting to complain about underutilization.
    8. and my laast "guess" i think the dates already been set and that by doing it prior to the election people will go into that booth with a "victory" fresh in their minds, saying I'll stick with our present team, they FINALLY did something.

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  49. rufus it's you and me over here..did they water down the drinks or is the topic ovr on the othr site a real burner?

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  50. I haven't been over there. When they start talking about sacrificing their family on the alter of "no pain for terrorists," it's time for me to do a walk-about.

    However, it looks like it's just you, "White man;" Bozo's going bed-time.

    G'nite, and G'luck, you too, Tater; good munchin down at Gitmo.

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  51. whit said...
    "I cannot tell a lie.

    I lifted the entire piece on Cleland from the Patriot Post website"

    You really should post it in such a way that one doesn't think you are engaging in wholesale plagerism.

    In addition, might I suggest that the esteemed members here indicate which one of the towering intellects actually made the post. i.e. Omar or Mohammed puts their name at the bottom of each post to identify the author. You guys should do the same.

    ReplyDelete
  52. Ash,

    What fucking part of "Rufus Said," are you having a problem understanding?

    ReplyDelete
  53. habu,

    re: mid-term

    If you are asking if there is some advantage to the President in striking after the mid-term, there might be.

    A strike so close to the election would give the Dems an excuse to claim a Clintonesque wag-the-dog. That could blow back badly on the Repubs.

    After the mid-term, the President will be a lame-duck. It is usually rough sailing, even for guys like Reagan. Consequently, he has no real downside, nor does his party, assuming a Repub victory.

    Even if the Dems carry one or both houses, what are the chances of the whole party going pacifist, given a war against a belligerent like Iran, especially since so many Dems are on record criticizing the President's failure to deal with this "real" threat to American security. Just as in 2003, no Dem will want to go into 2008 failing to support "our heroes". In short, they will vote for the war before voting against it.

    The administration is in need of a major personnel overhaul. That cannot come mid-stream. I see the possibility of both Rumsfeld and Rice leaving. I just can’t see the President starting a new season with the same coaching staff. Fair or not, Iraq carries too much unclaimed baggage. (Bad metaphor alert!)

    Personally, habu, it could be sooner than latter for my taste. There is a whole lot of payback coming to those mothers. I will never forget nor forgive Beirut.


    rufus,

    There was a time when I would have agreed with the brilliance of the President's move. Either I'm just too damned old and intolerant or the SOBs in the Senate are more shameless than ever. So, I don't know.

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  54. By the way, Whit "Indented" the quote which, I would think, would be a dead give-away that it was ...a...."Quote." ...

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  55. ash,
    you don't understand the basic nature of this blog..
    plagerists, liars, theives, drunkards,drug abusers,cat and dog owners, old Corvair drivers,hippies,bikers, biker babes,nudists,granola eaters, etc can all come here and chat,chat,chat.
    The chairs are old,you can throw your peanut shells on the floor, the dartboard is usually occupied,and there's a 16" lava light on the bar ..it don't get no better

    ReplyDelete
  56. ash,
    the only litmus test is that you have to try and use at least 11 letters of the alphabet. and thats cumulative...

    ReplyDelete
  57. habu_3 wrote:

    you don't understand the basic nature of this blog..plagerists, liars, theives, drunkards,drug abusers,cat and dog owners, old Corvair drivers,hippies,bikers, biker babes,nudists,granola eaters, etc can all come here and chat,chat,chat.
    The chairs are old,you can throw your peanut shells on the floor, the dartboard is usually occupied,and there's a 16" lava light on the bar ..it don't get no better


    Not my kind of place. The men's room should be a second ladies' room.

    ReplyDelete
  58. On another site, ilia capitolina said,

    "Ilia Capitolina said...
    The legacy media has acquired its power through corporate advertiser money and a generally uncritical audience. This is no longer to be. The legacy media will soon be living exclusively off borrowed pension accounts and Jihadi donations. Its audience is no longer there. Its relevancy is marginalized daily. It has nothing to sell except sordid political depravity and distortions, and even that will grow old with what audience it has left."

    Before being rudely interrupted, Allen tried to say,

    ilia capitolina,

    re: legacy media

    Sorry, I lost you on another thread.

    Your point was well taken, although it did not contemplate the necessity of the concurrent demise of the political elite that is its Siamese twin.

    What in the world is a Cuban drive-by? As to the remainder of your comment to buddy, that will be left, for the moment to ugly conjecture. :-)

    Some people make it very hard to be civil.

    ReplyDelete
  59. teresita said...

    "The men's room should be a second ladies' room."

    This is, Madame, the first authentic thing you have said all day. I congratulate you.

    While others have roundly attacked your sexual proclivities, I have demurred. You see, what I find most offensive about your personal taste is your obsessive need to share it with me. I have my needs and you have yours. Who gives a rat's ass?

    Lorenz found homosexuality to be a common trait in any number of species. For example, some geese exhibit a consistently measurable percentage of homosexual males. And while Lorenz's work would seem to strongly suggest the case for genetic predisposition, were I you, I would avoid modeling my life on the behavior of a goose. As you may have heard said disparagingly, "He hasn't the sense G-d gave a goose.

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  60. Prior to the big chill,

    stumbley said...
    Teresita:

    When the Islamic Rommel (and the other conspiring generals) get together to attempt to whack Ahmedinijad, I will believe that there are "moderate" Muslims who want to live in peace with the rest of the world.

    When I see hundreds of thousands (that's just a fraction of your 90%, by the way) marching in the streets of Damascus, Teheran, Jiddah, Riyadh, and Mecca saying "these fanatics do not represent us or our faith", I will believe that there are "moderate" Muslims.

    I don't see this happening. There IS no great percentage of "moderate" Muslims.

    What we need is the Islamic Martin Luther. Only then will Islam be able to co-exist with the West.

    Whereupon,

    allen said...
    stumbley; 09:39:58 PM

    re: Martin Luther

    With respect,

    OBL was that man. He sought to reform a corrupted Islam.

    What Islam needs is a Copernicus or a Galileo.

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  61. allen said:

    While others have roundly attacked your sexual proclivities, I have demurred. You see, what I find most offensive about your personal taste is your obsessive need to share it with me. I have my needs and you have yours. Who gives a rat's ass?

    Allen, I think only once on the Belmont Club have I said anything about my "personal taste" as you put it, and only then very obliquely. The little blurb here was just some light banter. What you are perhaps finding offensive is the need for other posters to divine certain things about me at certain other sites and bring them back to the Belmont Club to share (which is fair). At any rate, as I said also to habu_3, I feel we got off on the wrong foot and we ought to bury the hatchet (but not in my head!)

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  62. "The men's room should be a second ladies' room."

    No way! And the scotch had better be single malt.

    "sacrificing their family on the alter of "no pain for terrorists,""
    With you there Rufus.

    "do a walk-about." should read "go walkabout" We'll get you talkin' 'strine in no time!

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  63. Habu_3 said...
    I leave the keyboard for a minute to visit the "library" and P-Tater becomes Dic-Tater. I'm sending him to possum obedience school. I've tried everything else I know. I caught him the other day with a dvd called PossumGirls Gone Wild..I thought they were all wild til I looked at a few hours of the DVD,
    10:15:26 PM
    LOL

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  64. "sacrificing their family on the alter of "no pain for terrorists,"
    ---
    What the Hell is wrong w/those people, including, evidently, Wretchard?

    ReplyDelete
  65. doug,

    re: What's wrong with those people?

    As our friend teresita could tell us, they have confused the priest with the warrior.

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  66. Two Tennessee farmers, Jim and Bob, are sitting at their favorite bar, drinking beer.
    Jim turns to Bob and says, "You know, I'm tired of going through life without an education. Tomorrow I think I'll go to the Community College and sign up for some classes."

    Bob thinks it's a good idea, and the two leave.

    The next day, Jim goes down to the college and meets the Dean of Admissions, who signs him up for the four basic classes: Math, English, History, and Logic.

    "Logic?" Jim says. "What's that?"

    The dean says, "I'll show you. Do you own a weedeater?"

    "Yeah."

    "Then logically speaking, because you own a weedeater, I think that you would have a yard."

    "Well that's true, I do have a yard."

    "I'm not done," the dean says. "Because you have a yard, I think logically that you would have a house."

    "Yes, I do have a house."

    "And because you have a house, I think that you might logically have a family."

    "I have a family."

    "I'm not done yet. Because you have a family, then logically you must have a wife."

    "Yes, I do have a wife."

    "And because you have a wife, then logic tells me you must be a heterosexual."

    "I am a heterosexual. That's amazing; you were able to find out all of

    that because I have a weed eater."

    Excited to take the class now, Jim shakes the Dean's hand and leaves to go meet Bob at the bar. He tells Bob about his classes, how he is signed up for Math, English, History, and Logic.

    "Logic?" Bob says, "What's that?"

    Jim says, "Well listen up and I'll show you. Do you have a weedeater?"

    "No." Bob says.

    "Then you're a queer."

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  67. doug,

    I]m sorry, you are a VERY bad man!

    ;-)

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  68. Wretchard, who has a wonderful site, the Belmont Club, seems to be faced with a conundrum.
    How does one maintain order and discipline without manifestlt ruining the original intent of the proposition. If I may add the following:
    And so we may say generally that a master in any art avoids what is too much and what is too little, and seeks for the mean and chooses it—not the absolute but the relative mean.

    If, then, every art or science perfects its work in this way, looking into the mean and bringing its work up to this standard (so that people are accustomed to say of a good work that nothing could be taken from it or added to it, implying that excellence is destroyed by excess or deficiency, but secured by observing, the mean; and good artists, as we say, do in fact keep their eyes fixed on this in all that they do), and if virtue 'like nature, is more exact and better than any art, it follows that virtue also must aim at the mean—virtue of course meaning moral virtue or excellence, for it has to do with passions and actions, and it is these that admit of excess and deficiency and the mean. For instance, it is possible to feel fear, confidence, desire, anger, pity, and generally to be affected pleasantly and painfully, either too much or too little, in either case wrongly; but to be thus affected at the right times, and on the right occasions, and towards the right persons, and with the right object, and in the right fashion, is the mean course and the best course, and these are characteristics of virtue. And in the same way our outward acts also admit of excess and deficiency, and the mean or due amount. Virtue, then, has to deal with feelings or passions and with outward acts, in which excess is wrong and deficiency also is blamed, but the mean amount is praised and is right—both of which are characteristics of virtue.

    Virtue, then, is a kind of moderation inasmuch as it aims at the mean or moderate amount.

    Again, there are many ways of going wrong (for evil is infinite in nature, to use a Pythagorean figure, while good is finite), but only one way of going right; so that the one is easy and the other hard—easy to miss the mark and hard to hit it. On this account also, then, excess and deficiency are characteristic of vice, hitting the mean is characteristic of virtue: "Goodness is simple, evil takes any shape."

    Virtue, then, is a habit or trained faculty of choice, the characteristic of which lies in moderation or observance of the mean relative to the persons concerned, as determined by reason, i.e. by the reason by which the prudent man would determine it. And it is a moderation, firstly, inasmuch as it comes in the middle or mean between two vices, one on the side of excess, the other on the side of defect; and, secondly, inasmuch as, while these vices fall short of or exceed the due measure in feeling and in action, it finds and chooses the mean, middling, or moderate amount.

    Regarded in its essence, therefore, or according to the definition of its nature, virtue is a moderation or middle state, but viewed in its relation to what is best and right it is the extreme of perfection. . . .

    But it is not enough to make these general statements: we must go on and apply them to particulars. For in reasoning about matters of conduct general statements are too vague, and do not convey as much truth as particular propositions. It is with particulars that conduct is concerned: our statements, therefore, when applied to these particulars, should be found to hold good. These particulars then will be taken from the following table:

    The mean as concerns fear and confidence is courage: those that exceed in fearlessness are foolhardy, while those who exceed in fear are cowardly.

    The mean in respect to certain pleasures and pains is called temperance, while the excess is called profligacy. Deficiency in this matter is never found, so this sort of person does not have a name . . .

    In the matter of giving and earning money, the mean is liberality, excess and deficiency are prodigality and miserliness. But both vices exceed and fall short in giving and earning in contrary ways: the prodigal exceeds in spending, but falls short in earning; the miser exceeds in earning, but falls short in spending. . . .

    With respect to honor and disgrace, the mean is "high-mindedness," the excess might be called vanity, and the deficiency might be called humility or small-mindedness. . . .

    In the matter of anger also we find excess and deficiency and a mean. The characters really don't have names, but the moderate man who attains the mean here is called gentle, and we call his character gentleness; of those who go to extremes, we may take the term "wrathful" for the one who is angry in excess, and "timid" for the one who is deficient in anger, and "timidity" is his character. . . .

    With regard to pleasantness in amusement, he who observes the mean may be called witty, and his character wittiness; excess may be called buffoonery, and the man is a buffoon; while "tedious" may stand for the person who is deficient, and "tediousness" describes his character. . . .

    Aristotle, "The Doctrine of the Mean"

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  69. Aristides do get tedious,
    I mean that.

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  70. Welcome teresita. I am in Montpellier, France. Just lurking. Au revoir,

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  71. Damn, I thought Habu's writing was worthy of its very own post then he credited Aristotle.

    Nevetheless, its no wonder Possumtater has such commonsense.

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  72. Posted at BC earlier, much earlier, in the morning.

    Moderation

    allen said...
    While totally, completely, inexcusably off-topic, some things just have to be said:

    Yes, dear friends, where there is will there is a way. While American’s warriors fight to bring life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness to the unwashed, America’s civilians are doing their part.

    Businesses maneuver to buck smoking bans
    http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/
    20060908/ap_on_re_us/smoker_
    havens

    Sex toys contain dangerous chemicals says Greenpeace
    http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/
    20060908/od_afp/netherlands
    environment_060908185927

    Indeed, as Mama Gov works to protect us, some of her unruly children say, “F*** Off, Bitch.”

    Remind me, where are the Taliban, again?

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  73. Hey, 2164, if u make it to Italy, tell Harry Badurchi "hello" for me--

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  74. It's getting very difficult to find the working comment streams anymore. Dead ends everywhere, scattered across multiple URLs. Not sure if i can cope.

    Space Shuttle just took off, burning its 11,000 lbs of fuel per second, exiting the atmosphere @ 7,000 mph. jeeeez...!

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  75. I hold my breath every time that thing flies. I'll be glad when they get to copy 2.0

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  76. ' Not sure if i can cope.'

    I don't have to worry - never could anyhoo.

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  77. For some reason, I cannot get the Belmont Club.

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  78. Whit,
    Golly gee, I mighta coulda writ all that Aristotle stuff but I jus got ta figur'n that he gets such little read'n time from the public that ,well I wouldn't just plagerize him outright.
    Sure did sound like good advice though

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  79. When it comes to Aristotle,

    a little'll do as a lot'll.

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  80. That stuff doesn't come easy, y'know. It costs a lifetime of weird sound-patterns running around loose and uncontrolled inside yer head. The opportunity cost (that is, the value disconnect between input and output) is disgusting, repulsive, sickening.

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  81. That's why I liked Joyce:
    Ya get your kicks at the same time.
    But I don't smoke much anymore.

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  82. Dr. Joyce Brothers? Oh, she's a cutie!

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