Thursday, January 22, 2004
Whose Ox? And Other Musings
Recent campaign speeches have once again revealed that one man's special interests are another man's political base. The Dems keep talking about the "special interests" of the Bush White House: Halliburton; Big Corporations; "the rich." If the Dems occupied the White House, the GOP would be pointing out their "special interests": labor unions (especially the teachers and government workers); the Trial Lawyers; environmentalists; "the deserving poor."
I think others have pointed this out too, but do you notice how the most anti-war candidates are always "fighting"? "We're fighting for working families!" "We've fought to protect the environment!" "I'll fight for an income tax where everyone pays his fair share." Are they overcompensating, or something?
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I think others have pointed this out too, but do you notice how the most anti-war candidates are always "fighting"? "We're fighting for working families!" "We've fought to protect the environment!" "I'll fight for an income tax where everyone pays his fair share." Are they overcompensating, or something?
Volunteering at Camp Pendleton
I can't add much to the excellent descriptive posts of LT Smash, Armed Liberal and Da Goddess. It was a great day, where we did a good thing with wonderful people. Thanks, Jim, for making this happen, and for letting me participate.
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Thursday, January 15, 2004
Big Media's Love Affair with Castro
Jay Nordlinger talks once again of the plight of anti-Castro Cuban Oscar Biscet in today's Impromptus at National Review Online. Biscet is close to death, having been a political prisoner for years. Excerpt:
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If the likes of 60 Minutes and the New York Times got interested in Biscet, they could save him. Castro would move. But because no one is shouting — no one with a sufficient megaphone — Castro imprisons and tortures at will. If our media are at all interested in Cuba, it's to perfume the dictator, revile the Cuban-Americans, or bash U.S. policy (which, of course, they misunderstand).Why is it that Castro, in the light of tons of evidence that he is a ruthless dictator and oppressor of the Cuban people, is given a free pass by the mainstream media in this country? Just another indication, I suppose, of the left-leaning groupthink in America's media establishment.
Yesterday, I was talking with a veteran Cuba hand. He said that Castro's habit is to allow his prisoners to get desperately sick, in some dungeon, and then release them. They die not long after, but not in prison. And they are promptly forgotten, except by their loved ones and the "crazies" in Miami.
Friday, January 02, 2004
Science and Politics
Instapundit points to a great speech by Michael Crichton ("Andromeda Strain" et al.) on the politicization of science, and why it's a bad thing. If you have any interest at all about how science influences policy, it's a must-read.
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Happy New Year!
I'm back! Had a great Christmas with lots of family. It was all a blur, but I had a good time, and I think everyone else did, too. The downer was that my wife's mom had a health crisis and was hospitalized for a couple days. She's now in a nursing home for rehab and we are hopeful that she'll be on her own again in a few weeks.
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