Who are you tell tell me
That it just isn’t fair?
Who are you to tell me
What is right? … what is wrong?
Does saying that you’d help if you could
Somehow excuse your failure?
Does your “world peace” make sense
If you hate those who disagree?
Who are you to tell me
That it just isn’t fair?

Who are you to tell me
That it’s all my fault?
Who are you to tell me
It’s not your philosophy to blame?
Does crying “the sky is falling”
Really mean it’s coming down?
Does crying “it’s a vast conspiracy”
Mean you’ve washed your hands of guilt?
Who are you to tell me
That it’s all my fault?

I am here to tell you
The world isn’t always so beautiful.
I am trying to tell you
The world sometimes is cruel and unkind
I am saying that we’re not always like that
But sometimes, we are
I am saying that I will help, when I can
But please, forgive me when I’m weak
I am here to tell you
That it just isn’t fair.

I’m sorry.

The disappearance of Centanni and Wiig is at least as newsworthy as – and far more threatening to our national security than – people falling off cruise ships or getting eaten by alligators or attacked by bees.

Missing Fox News crew: Blogburst – Michelle Malkin

This isn’t about Fox News. This is about two human beings who deserve our concern and attention. Don’t let the media forget that.

So, here is the final update:

I finished the rest of the Qur’an and nothing there made me change my mind about the Manson-like quality of the cult.

Closed – Qur’an Project

Let me be quick to point out that my understanding that the cult is not Islam, itself. While I personally have grave doubts regarding the Muslim faith, that’s not an indictment against those who hold it. The Muslims I know are as tolerant and accepting as anyone else. Rather, the cult is those extremists who commit violence against people who have done them no wrong. Can anyone really argue otherwise?

A combination of some organizational changes at work, at least 3 separate bouts with the common cold, and of course the holidays and all that entails have conspired to keep me more than busy enough to have no time to scour reference material for this blog, much less update it. I even went for several weeks without opening my aggregator at one point.

Thanks for reading. There’s more rolling around in my brain. It’s just a matter of time before it comes spilling out…

On an unrelated note, it seems likely that I’ve run out of gas on this blog. That there are two of them I’ve maintained over the last several months is clearly not helping matters, either, and now neither of them are getting attention. It also hasn’t helped that Feed Burner is reporting approximately zero readers except when I “ping” them… and that’s okay, really, but not quite what I hoped for. Finally, I’ve got another “secret” project I’m working on that’s completely unrelated to blogging and sucking away large chunks of reading time.

Since November 2 is literally around the corner as I write this, I’m not sure there’s much more that I will have to say – provided the election is clear cut. Here’s hoping that it’s all over before the calendar turns to November 3.

One thing that struck me, in particular, was the President’s response to the second question regarding the chances of another 9/11-style attack should Sen. Kerry be elected: “It isn’t going to happen.” Kerry being elected, that is. I can’t help but think that this was a response intended both to deflect the question and not answer it directly and that it was intended to knock Kerry back on his heels. Clearly he was prepared for a question like this.

–

Kerry regularly seems like he’s speaking before he thinks his answers through, often seeming like he’s spewing a canned response. Bush sometimes hesitates, most often (and most noticeably) in the middle of a sentence.

–

They’re going to be done shortly, but let me get this straight: Kerry wants it one way with Iraq, and another way with North Korea? The President is confident and strong in his response regarding North Korea, and seems to be making a lot more sense on this point.

–

Kerry is differentiating himself from the President, which is a good thing, but my reaction is that he doesn’t really have a coherent set of principles. Bush, on the other hand, appears to be talking entirely from a set of strongly-held principles, whether popular or not.

Overall, I’d give this debate to Bush.

Kerry: B-
Bush: B+

fin

This is what happens when a prestigious media outlet like the New York Times utters a word that brings to mind the horrific experience of Vietnam. Eventually, the meme is repeated often enough that people start to believe it… and it ends up in a highly popular television drama without so much as a dissenting opinion.

What a country.

I was on my way to work in Neenah, Wisconsin on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. It was a rather normal, sunny morning. Since my wife needed the car that day, she was dropping me off, which left my hands free to fiddle with the radio. I turned it on and got the shock of my life.

There have only been two other events that have managed to grab my attention like this. The first was January 28, 1986: I sat at home and cried when I learned of the Challenger disaster. I was over 3 hours late for work that day. The other was more recent, as I turned on the television to watch for news of the return of Columbia from the ISS; instead of seeing a short blurb following the safe return of the shuttle, I watched in horror as video showed us what remained of the space plane falling toward New Mexico, Texas, and Louisiana. Sixteen minutes from home.

That’s not to say that other things haven’t happened. However, I didn’t understand (and perhaps didn’t really believe in the reality of) the assassination attempt on President Reagan. I didn’t identify with David Koresh or his followers. The bombing of the Cole, the embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, and even Oklahoma City were tragic, but at the same time not symbolic for me. Columbine showed the depravity among us, and I was unmoved. You see, all of these events were understandable, in a twisted way. Not excusable, not right – clearly wrong! – but not unexpected, ultimately. I am a cynic by nature. I don’t expect the worst from human beings, but I generally find it easy to imagine what we’re capable of… so I’m not often surprised by the depths of the darkness around us.

Two things set Challenger, Columbia, and 9/11 apart from the rest of these events for me.

The first is that all three were “unimaginable” to me. I have a lot of faith in technology, from personal technology all the way up to the space shuttle, and I just don’t expect it to fail. This is unrealistic, but aside from Microsoft Windows, our technology works on a day-in, day-out basis. When it doesn’t, mission critical systems have backups and backups to the backups… right? That the Challenger would explode on ascent, that Columbia would break apart during descent, and that the World Trade Center towers would collapse is simply beyond my grasp. On the other hand, in the case of the 9/11 hijackings, it had never occurred to me that someone would actually commandeer planes of civilians to use as missiles. “These things don’t happen,” I told myself… rather persuasively.

The second is the horror that the people involved in all three of these events may have, and except for the Challenger disaster, almost certainly experienced. The crews of the two shuttles, the crew and passengers of the hijacked planes, and those trapped in the WTC towers may not have realized they were going to die until a moment before it happened. Even so, such a possibility had to be on their minds. Perhaps I personalize such things more than is healthy for me. Perhaps not. Right or wrong, though, this thought is hard to escape. I weep for the thought of these men, women, and even children realizing that their final moments are at hand and they’ll never be able to go back and say goodbye to their loves ones.

I spent all day on that fateful Tuesday attempting to go through my routine. Being responsible for Internet services at work, I got something of a respite when I was asked to block the web news sources – after all, they were crushing productivity for people who were just trying to get through the day, and people otherwise had radios and televisions tuned in everywhere – but honestly, what I remember is that things were definitely not normal. There was no anger, no pain, just mind-numbing shock and disbelief.

Terrorists attacked our nation on that bright, sunny morning. Ultimately, though, they didn’t win. They will never win as long as we remember.

We Will Never, We Must Never Forget.

Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America. – George W. Bush, September 11, 2001

Special thanks to Michael at The Common Virtue for the link to the “never forget” presentation. (Via Blogs for Bush)

Fair warning: be prepared to cry.

This is why we are fighting terrorism. This reason, precisely. Never forget this.

I am a lifelong Democrat, and I have always loved the ethnic, religious, and regional varieties of Democrats and all their rhetorical exuberance and excess. When Zell says he hasn’t left the Democratic party, the Democratic party left him, I nod my head vigorously and want to pound the pew saying, Say it louder, brother, say it louder! Say it loud so they all can hear!

It’s a comfortable read, and well worth it.

UPDATE: Matt Margolis notes that Jimmy Carter has the opposite reaction, which, amusingly, plays right into a central ideological premise of Sen. Miller: that family is more important than party. (Via Blogs for Bush)

Thinking about this makes me realize that I am among the oldest of those that do not remember the Democratic Party of old… because I wasn’t alive to see it. I grew up with a nation struggling to find its moral compass after the assassination of JFK. I remember bits and pieces of Vietnam; an uncle of mine served and came back forever changed. I remember Paul Harvey telling us every day at noon about Cambodia. I remember mass marketed hedonism – though of course I didn’t have a word for it, then – and I remember garage bands, teenagers with big hair, and Watergate. And I remember having a distinct impression that Jimmy Carter wasn’t going to be good for our country, even as an elementary school student.

I guess it’s no surprise, after all.