Saturday, September 25, 2004
Why is this a story?
Commandments big as two barn doors
A private citizen (a self-described Biblical scholar; look, my brother Brad is both a preacher/minister and a farmer, so I'm not saying it's beyond the realm of possibility, but you'll forgive me a little healthy skepticism) paints a replica of the Ten Commandments on his barn on his own property, and the Enquirer (by way of the Associated Press) feels the need to print it?
It's not even LOCAL. Dellroy is way up in the northeastern part of the state.
People giving you too much grief over the centrist nature of the editorial page lately? Felt you had to appeal a small, but extremely vocal, constituency?
Every President of the United States, and the overwhelming number of members of Congress, Supreme Court justices and lower court judges, governors, and state legislators, not to mention mayors, city/town/village/borough councilmembers, township trustees, county commissioners/judges, has been a white Christian male. That's not going to change anytime soon. So how come so many so-called "Christians" feel as if they are one step away from being publically fed to lions?
WF
// posted by Wes @ 10:39 AM |||Comments (3) | Trackback (0)
They Get Letters
Third letter down.
Ms. Ruth Wells of Fairfield, how can you write "he responded quickly and appropriately to 9/11" knowing that he sat there, looking like a deer in the headlights, for SEVEN MINUTES? How can you say that knowing we pulled our resources from the hunt for bin Laden (Remember him? The actual mastermind?) for his little quagmire in Iraq?
Do you even actually WATCH or READ anything? Or do you just go with what the nice man on the radio (be it Rush, O'Reilly, Liddy, Medved, Coulter, or Savage) says?
(and yes, I said "man" and included "Coulter." I'm not 100% sure that's ironic.)
WF
// posted by Wes @ 10:33 AM |||Comments (2) | Trackback (0)
Food for thought
Ms. Carol Leach of Montgomery provides something to chew on today.
It's good to be skeptical, and a little healthy suspicion never hurt anyone. But in our desire for "safety" or "security," we're losing our humanity. It explains why, rather than digging in and doing whatever it takes to salvage our kids' schools, we simply pack up and move somewhere where everyone looks like us. It explains why, rather than engaging the world and trying to work for mutual progress and our common humanity, we bomb the heck out of a tin-pot dictator who was no threat then wonder why the rest of the world treats us as a bull in a china shop. We're fracturing, folks, and it ain't pretty. We'd rather concentrate on what divides us than our commonality.
And right now, I hear people firing up their computers to say that talk of "commonality" is incipient Socialism. Simply astounding. My friends in the Roman Catholic Church (whatever beefs I may have with the theology of Catholicism, this isn't one of them) often speak as everyone as being a child of God. Whatever your religious beliefs, whether you think of humanity as children of God or simply a common species deserving of respect, it's a good thing to feel. And although I was being quite snarky yesterday, people out in the 'burbs often suffer from the same problems that people in the city or people in the small towns and on the farms suffer from. Let's start with that and figure out how to alleviate it for all involved.
WF
// posted by Wes @ 10:24 AM |||Comment (0) | Trackback (0)
Friday, September 24, 2004
Good Vibes
If you have any, send them down to my buddy Sinfonian at Blast Off!, as his home is pretty much directly in the path of Hurricane Jeanne.
WF
// posted by Wes @ 6:31 PM |||Comment (0) | Trackback (0)
They Walk Among Us
Remember that mailer that the GOP sent to voters in West Virginia and Arkansas? As it turns out, they not only admit to it (registration required), they're PROUD of it.
I can't say it enough - these people must be stopped. Period.
(props to Greg L. Mann at the Cincinnati Group for the link)
WF
// posted by Wes @ 11:14 AM |||Comments (4) | Trackback (0)
Oy gevalt.
They want to get 50,000 Republicans out there to see "President" Chimpy McStagger when he comes to West Chester. And they'll probably get it too. In the land of cul-de-sacs, strip malls, and sprawlburbs, where carpooling is a sign of incipient Communism and attendance at a Unitarian Church or United Church of Christ is proof of anti-American Satanism, people looooooooove them some Dubya.
WF
(Feelin' snarky today - can you tell?)
// posted by Wes @ 10:47 AM |||Comments (6) | Trackback (0)
An infinite number of monkeys on an infinite number of typewriters...
...could have produced a better, more factually-based op-ed than Mr. Charles T. Fifer of Mason.
If the rallying cry of John Kerry is, in Mr. Fifer's words, "Blame America First," then obviously the rallying cry of any hard-right knuckle-draggers must be "Blame The Clenis™ First."
Sigh. And just when I think the Enquirer is getting more moderate, they publish this slack-jawed claptrap. What, was Mr. John Turney of Springdale on vacation?
I see Mr. John Myers of Springdale is challenging Mr. Turney (fifth letter down) for the title of Most Idiotic Person In Springdale Named John. What, is there some sort of stupid factory up there? I've met people from Springdale - they're certainly not uniformly right-wing shills.
WF
// posted by Wes @ 10:38 AM |||Comment (0) | Trackback (0)
Thursday, September 23, 2004
A plug
The Azmari Quartet is in residence here at NKU, and I recommend tomorrow night's concert highly. Their office is close to mine, and I hear them rehearsing all the time. You will be pleased with what you hear.
WF
// posted by Wes @ 1:28 PM |||Comment (0) | Trackback (0)
Quote Of The Day
(from the fourth letter down)
"I'd still take Dan Rather and documents scribbled in crayon by a 5-year-old before I'd trust anything coming out of this administration or the media who support it."
From Mr. Russell Wright of Price Hill. I'm smiling big now.
WF
// posted by Wes @ 7:39 AM |||Comment (0) | Trackback (0)
Wednesday, September 22, 2004
Is Our Favorite Fishwrap moving left?
Some editorials today:
In the Hot Air department, (I'm assuming) Ray Cooklis, who is certainly no lefty, takes Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) to task for the D.C. Personal Protection Act, which would lift a ban on handguns in Washington, DC. Since DC has no legislature (other than City Council, which can't make these kinds of laws), the Congress makes the laws for it. Suffice it to say that Hatch seems to be less concerned about the residents of DC and more concerned about the NRA (and I say that as someone who really is ambivalent about gun control issues). It's odd, but refreshing, that the Enquirer would take that side.
Secondly, the top editorial chastises the American Family Association and other groups for their boycott of P&G. The Enquirer factually says that the overturning of Article XII has nothing to do with same-sex marriage, and I salute them for stating that clearly.
So maybe it's at least becoming a centrist newspaper.
And even today's letters, outside of the first one from Mr. Phil Long of Montgomery, are a good batch. That's two days in a row that people to the left of Genghis Khan dominate the letters page.
Stick around, folks. This is gonna get fun.
WF
// posted by Wes @ 8:03 AM |||Comment (1) | Trackback (1)
Tuesday, September 21, 2004
We let him go.
People jump on Bill Clinton's case for "not takin' out Osama" in the late 1990s.
I wonder if these same people will jump on this...
Four months later, intelligence showed Zarqawi was planning to use ricin in terrorist attacks in Europe.
The Pentagon drew up a second strike plan, and the White House again killed it. By then the administration had set its course for war with Iraq.
“People were more obsessed with developing the coalition to overthrow Saddam than to execute the president’s policy of preemption against terrorists,” according to terrorism expert and former National Security Council member Roger Cressey.
snip
Military officials insist their case for attacking Zarqawi’s operation was airtight, but the administration feared destroying the terrorist camp in Iraq could undercut its case for war against Saddam[emphasis added].
The United States did attack the camp at Kirma at the beginning of the war, but it was too late — Zarqawi and many of his followers were gone. “Here’s a case where they waited, they waited too long and now we’re suffering as a result inside Iraq,” Cressey added.
And despite the Bush administration’s tough talk about hitting the terrorists before they strike, Zarqawi’s killing streak continues today.
We could have taken out one of the major scourges, and we didn't. Why? Because then Bush wouldn't have had his precious reason to go after "the man who trahd to kill mah dad!"
(And lest some of you say, "Well, that just proves that terrorists were operating in Eye-rack!" remember that Zarqawi was operating in the Kurdish region, where there was a no-fly zone and Saddam had limited, if any, control.)
WF
// posted by Wes @ 3:18 PM |||Comment (1) | Trackback (0)
I was there...
...but due to previous commitments and being dead-on-my-feet tired after finishing a music project, I had to leave before John Edwards spoke. If all went according to plan, Steve Brinker got a picture with Edwards. I'll find out today.
WF
// posted by Wes @ 7:35 AM |||Comment (0) | Trackback (0)
Mostly good letters
Especially the first one, from Ms. Kristen Schwytzer of Green Township. Dig out that clarinet, flute, trumpet, snare drum, and donate it! (Though if anyone has a King 3B trombone lying around to donate, call me.)
Of course, "mostly" means "not all." Our Favorite Slack-Jawed Yokel, Mr. John Turney of Springdale, strikes again. I could swear they put the stake through his heart.
WF
// posted by Wes @ 7:32 AM |||Comment (1) | Trackback (0)
Monday, September 20, 2004
Alma Mater
Via fellow alum Brandi, I find that Morehead State ranks in the top 25 of bachelor's and master's degree granting public universities in the south.
So, why let Brian Griffin have all the fun?
Far above the rolling campus,
Resting in the dale,
Stands the dear old Alma Mater
We will always hail.
Shout in chorus, raise your voices!
Blue and Gold, praise you!
Winning through to fame and glory,
Dear old MSU.
WF
// posted by Wes @ 10:20 PM |||Comments (3) | Trackback (0)
Good on them
The Enquirer puts out an op-ed in support of the music program rebuilding in Cincinnati Public Schools. Thank you to the editorial board for its support of the arts and arts education.
The letters today weren't bad either. And if Bronson keeps writing stuff like he did yesterday instead of his normal pseudo-Dominionist ramblings, there's even hope for him.
WF
// posted by Wes @ 1:37 PM |||Comment (0) | Trackback (0)
Sunday, September 19, 2004
Yarrrr!
Avast! It be National Talk Like A Pirate Day!
If ye be fixin' t' sail today, mateys, may th' wind be at your back and may Neptune smile upon your plunder.
WF
// posted by Wes @ 11:07 AM |||Comment (1) | Trackback (0)
Register to vote
Here's how. In Ohio, the deadline is October 4.
WF
// posted by Wes @ 10:57 AM |||Comment (0) | Trackback (0)
Old-School Republicans
One of the best examples of old-school Republicans in Ohio is Supreme Court Justice Paul Pfeifer (R-Crawford County). The Enquirer supplies us with an article about his support of education, labor unions, and environmental concerns.
Pfeifer represents a wing of the GOP that has, sadly, been pushed to the background by the Neocons and the Theocons.
WF
// posted by Wes @ 10:51 AM |||Comment (0) | Trackback (0)
For once, it's not utter crap.
Today, Peter Bronson pays what is actually a grand tribute to Gordon Brisker, an incredible local jazz saxophonist who passed away on September 12 from pancreatic cancer.
I have no disagreements with Bronson. He resisted the urge to politicize it (though I can't think of a single way how he could, I'm sure that doesn't stop him most of the time). Brisker was a phenomenal musician and human being. A colleague of mine at NKU had the good fortune to work with him quite often, and spoke of his warmth, musicality, and all-around greatness and goodness.
Requiescat in pace.
WF
// posted by Wes @ 10:42 AM |||Comment (0) | Trackback (0)
One Of Those Days
Nude Runner Leads To Robbery Arrest
I'm surprised Si Leis didn't arrest the victim for being naked.
WF
// posted by Wes @ 10:40 AM |||Comment (0) | Trackback (0)
Lake Inferior
My office at NKU is in a building right next to the "lake" mentioned here. I certainly hope they're able to pull this off, if for no other reason than having something better to look at from the windows in my building.
WF
// posted by Wes @ 10:36 AM |||Comment (0) | Trackback (0)
Congress
Find out what candidates for Congress have to say about certain issues.
Personally, I wish there was a broader scope here, but hey, that's just being greedy.
