March 09, 2005
New Milblog Discovery
i'm a big milblog fan. i have my favorites:
Blackfive of course, and fellow Munuvians Trying to Grok (Go share Sarah's joy at
her husband's safe return. i'm so happy for them.) and
SlagleRock. Also some newer faves like
Armor Geddon (who's an amazing diarist) and
Risawn.
Now check out a new milblogger, Danjel, who's in Iraq right now. The site is appropriately named 365 and a Wakeup, which is a phrase that i believe dates back to the Vietnam War. (But you already knew that.)
i thought this bit from a February post called "The Ride North" was interesting:
Southern Iraq completely surprised me if for no other reason then the people. All along our route of march children would come running up to the vehicles waving and laughing. They were poorly dressed, and several of them alternated between waving and pointing to their mouth to ask for food. As heartwrenching as it was to ignore their request we were under strict orders not to throw food out so we responded with smiles and waves of our own. I questioned the order later and found that several children had been run over because they would run in front of a vehicle to get food. It was a far cry from what we had been briefed we would see and I resolved to do my level best to not break the trust our nation had made with the people of Iraq. I wish I could have taken a film crew with me on that leg of the trip, it would go a long way towards dispelling the skewed viewpoints that America sees on the news.
And don't miss Danjel's description of a
VBIED going off, and his explanation of
why checkpoints have become necessary in the first place:
There are mornings where the steady throb of traffic pulses through the streets like a metal river and others where the hum of people and commerce is torn apart by the earsplitting roar of a VBIED. These wheeled bombs exist for the sole purpose of rending equipment and shredding flesh with impunity. In their wake they leave physical scars on the survivors and mental scars on the community.
Rather then let the insurgents continue to inflict casualties whenever and wherever they want there are checkpoints scattered across BaghdadÂ’s highways to intercept VBIEDs. In most cases these checkpoints are actually two distinct checkpoints, the first manned by the Iraqi Army and the second manned by US soldiers. The Iraqis have shown their mettle in the last few weeks and they have absorbed the bulk of the casualties when VBIEDs attempt to hit a checkpoint. But they arenÂ’t perfect, and so the US troops manning the second checkpoint are always at the ready.
The most important thing to understand about US checkpoints is that soldiers manning them have specific ramp up procedures when they feel threatened. Soldiers donÂ’t just blithely take aim at traffic and fill the air with lead. The procedure drilled into every soldierÂ’s head is to meet the threat with an increasingly forceful response. As the threat escalates so too does the response.
Which brings us back to the threat of VBIEDs. The only warning of a VBIED is a vehicle attempting to rapidly close with the checkpoint – which is exactly what Giuliana Sgrena’s vehicle did. Put yourself in the boots of the soldier manning that checkpoint. You see a vehicle approaching that seems to be gaining speed as it nears. You signal the driver to stop but the car plummets on. You fire a warning shot, and then another into the engine block but the car doesn’t slow. What would you do? Don’t just give a cursory response – think about it for a moment. If you are at work imagine having your life, and the fate of all your coworkers tied to your decision. Would you gamble all those lives by giving the vehicle the benefit of the doubt. Maybe you would, but I’d be willing to bet after seeing the bloody wake of a VBIED you would have pulled the trigger too.
That's an excellent way to put the incident in perspective.
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Posted by: JD at March 09, 2005 01:24 PM (pQrtL)
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Annika, you're a blogging fool! I just came from 365 and a wake up and have to say, you have a great blog here!
Posted by: Sean at March 10, 2005 10:18 AM (ru0sP)
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Some Thoughts On Nightline
Here are some thoughts that occurred to me while watching last night's Nighline special on bloggers, which was very well done, in my opinion.
One might get the impression that bloggers are all frustrated journalists. In fact, many bloggers probably think of themselves that way. Speaking only for myself however, i am most definitely not a frustrated journalist.* To me, the very word "journalist" would be an insult if i ever heard it applied to me.
Don't get me started on journalists. A journalism degree is nothing more than a four year general education degree plus a couple of courses on how to meet a deadline. The vast majority of journalists are complete idiots. Trouble is, they don't realize it.
Bloggers are modern pamphleteers. One of the bloggers in the Nightline report expressed a hope that the blogosphere might mature as time goes on. Nonsense. That's not only an impossibility, it's antithetical to the nature of the medium.
We're supposed to rant. We're supposed to shoot from the hip. The blogosphere is the essence of free speech. That Virginia politician who got upset because some liberal blogger didn't follow journalistic standards by contacting him before publication needs to get his head out of his ass. The politician wrote a stupid bill, and that particular blogger called him on it. Good for her. The politician didn't like the strong language in the emails he got, but guess what? He pulled the bill, didn't he? Welcome to Dan Rather's world.
No we're not journalists, we are activists. Unpredictable, uncontrollable anarchists. May we always be.
_______________
* Frustrated comedienne, maybe.
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The pamphleteering analogy is a good one. I explain blogging -- my style of blogging, anyway, and that of most of the bloggers I read -- to those unfamiliar with it by telling them it's much like writing letters to the editor, but better. (It's not a perfect analogy, but it gets the idea across.) The advantages of blogging are that publication is guaranteed, there are no word limits, no editors with opposing political axes to grind or moribund senses of humor, and few limits on the number of people you can reach. (The latter is theoretically true of newspapers with online editions, too, of course.)
Another way we're different from traditional journalists -- the MSM -- is that we're a true meritocracy. People don't pay attention to our stuff because we occupy a bully pulpit at
NYT or
WaPo or NBC, by virtue of having successfully played footsy with the right people at the paper or network. (And while the MSM and blogginb both reward political slant, at least blogging rewards
all political slants.) People read us, if at all, because they think our stuff is worthwhile -- funny, insightful, informed, or whatever. The TTLB ecosystem is littered with the corpses of failed blogs that maybe five people read -- although, like Bruce Willis in
The Sixth Sense, many of them don't yet realize they're dead. Heck, I'm very nearly in that category! But the point is that a blogger with any serious readership has achieved it purely on the strength of talent and work.
Posted by: Matt at March 09, 2005 06:32 AM (SIlfx)
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Hey, I'M a "journalist." Or at least that's what my bosses tell me. And I think "activist" is a much dirtier word. That said, you don't need a J-degree to become a journalist (and I think J school actually has hurt journalism a good deal). I've taken one journalism class in my life.
Also, I think a lot of times, especially these days, people are too quick to lump in reporters with columnists with pundits. Remember: an article is NOT a column is NOT an editorial. That is one of my biggest peeves, when people mix those up.
But the idea that bloggers are frustrated journalists is something that journalists probably tell themselves to hold onto that warm special feeling they get when they say the word ... journalism. The truth of the matter is that there is no rocket science to reporting and a minimum amount of art (there is SOME, but it's minimal). Many of the best bloggers end up being scooped up as columnists or whatever by other media outlets... which is the best way to do it. You don't have to bust your ass reporting forever and don't have to play the kiss-up game. Blogging also allows you to mouth off and voice your opinion. Reporters aren't allowed to do that most of the time ... not if they expect to attach their names to the pieces and not piss of their sources and their bosses.
And, as we've seen with the Rather issue, science, legal issues and a host of other things, in the blogosphere, people writing about those things are actually professionals in those arenas--which makes reporters very very nervous. Why? Because most of the time, at the end of the day, you're expecting someone who majored in English to write an in-depth story about, say, Global Warming.
Hell, I think a lot of reporters are slightly jealous of bloggers. Then again, reporters do get that HUGE paycheck and the most-excellent benefits media companies are known to provide. (That's a joke.)
Posted by: ken at March 09, 2005 10:51 AM (xD5ND)
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There are quite a few bloggers who make *much* more money in their day jobs than all but the top tier of journalists in theirs. So, why in the world would anyone think they (the bloggers) would want to be journalists?
Posted by: David Foster at March 09, 2005 11:35 AM (qNcDV)
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Some portions of the blogosphere have, ahem, "matured." I wish I could remember the link or the company, but at least one major corporation set up a fake blog as part of an advertising campaign.
Just as the printed medium has a variety of offerings, from the New York Post to the old scandal sheet I posted in my college dorm years ago, so the blogosphere has everything from the aforementioned advertising to the "name" bloggers to...well, everything.
Within a few months, blogging will no longer be trendy, and then we'll see what happens.
Posted by: Ontario Emperor at March 09, 2005 01:55 PM (bGyIu)
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"A journalism degree is nothing more than a four year general education degree plus a couple of courses on how to meet a deadline. The vast majority of journalists are complete idiots. Trouble is, they don't realize it."
Ahhhh, finally, someone who agrees with me. I'm in love.
Posted by: Mark at March 09, 2005 04:45 PM (776zW)
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March 08, 2005
The President's Remarks At Fort Lesley J. McNair
When Tony Pierce interviewed me last month, i criticized the president for "his maddening inarticulateness" and his administration for its "horrible job of articulating the argument for war."
So today, i was pleased to hear the President's remarks to the National Defense University at Fort McNair. The speech covered subjects that the President has emphasized often, and unfortunately it's not getting the attention it deserves. It was a historic speech, and deserves to be considered among this presidentÂ’s finest. i think the president explained our foreign policy today with more clarity and less defensiveness than he has ever done until now.
The theory here is straightforward: terrorists are less likely to endanger our security if they are worried about their own security. When terrorists spend their days struggling to avoid death or capture, they are less capable of arming and training to commit new attacks. We will keep the terrorists on the run, until they have nowhere left to hide.
ThatÂ’s the short term strategy, and its efficacy should be obvious by now.
During the presidential campaign season, i often tried to point out that Bush had the only long term strategy for keeping America safe. Kerry wanted to hunt down Osama, but it was clear to me that eliminating one man was not going to prevent future attacks. Only changing the Middle East could do that. Bush made that point beautifully today.
Our strategy to keep the peace in the longer term is to help change the conditions that give rise to extremism and terror, especially in the broader Middle East. Parts of that region have been caught for generations in a cycle of tyranny and despair and radicalism. When a dictatorship controls the political life of a country, responsible opposition cannot develop, and dissent is driven underground and toward the extreme. And to draw attention away from their social and economic failures, dictators place blame on other countries and other races, and stir the hatred that leads to violence. This status quo of despotism and anger cannot be ignored or appeased, kept in a box or bought off, because we have witnessed how the violence in that region can reach easily across borders and oceans. The entire world has an urgent interest in the progress, and hope, and freedom in the broader Middle East.
. . . By now it should be clear that authoritarian rule is not the wave of the future; it is the last gasp of a discredited past. It should be clear that free nations escape stagnation, and grow stronger with time, because they encourage the creativity and enterprise of their people. It should be clear that economic progress requires political modernization, including honest representative government and the rule of law.
. . .
Across the Middle East, a critical mass of events is taking that region in a hopeful new direction. Historic changes have many causes, yet these changes have one factor in common. A businessman in Beirut recently said, ‘We have removed the mask of fear. We're not afraid anymore.’ Pervasive fear is the foundation of every dictatorial regime -- the prop that holds up all power not based on consent. And when the regime of fear is broken, and the people find their courage and find their voice, democracy is their goal, and tyrants, themselves, have reason to fear.
During my interview, i also tried to explain an often overlooked aspect of Bush’s foreign policy. i said: “For years, the US was criticized for propping up dictators to further our own national interest, especially in Central and South America. And these dictators were bad men, but they were our bad men. . . . Now the US is not propping up friendly dictators [anymore]; instead we try to bring friendly democracies to the places we need them. i think that's a step in the right direction. As long as we're messing in other people's business, it's better that we're no longer putting in dictators”
HereÂ’s how President Bush acknowledged that very important, and welcome, shift in our foreign policy:
The advance of hope in the Middle East also requires new thinking in the capitals of great democracies -- including Washington, D.C. By now it should be clear that decades of excusing and accommodating tyranny, in the pursuit of stability, have only led to injustice and instability and tragedy. It should be clear that the advance of democracy leads to peace, because governments that respect the rights of their people also respect the rights of their neighbors. It should be clear that the best antidote to radicalism and terror is the tolerance and hope kindled in free societies. And our duty is now clear: For the sake of our long-term security, all free nations must stand with the forces of democracy and justice that have begun to transform the Middle East.
The Bush administrationÂ’s abandonment of Cold War style foreign affairs -- where any sonofabitch was okay as long as he was our sonofabitch -- is something that should have endeared the left to President Bush, if not for their own blind hatred of anything Republican. But no matter. Our president is committed to the spread of friendly democracies rather than simply installing friendly dictatorships (which were historically easier to create) because it is the right thing to do, not because it will win him any popularity contests. Here, the president reminded his audience that staying on this difficult and urgent task will not always be easy.
Encouraging democracy in that region is a generational commitment. It's also a difficult commitment, demanding patience and resolve -- when the headlines are good and when the headlines aren't so good. Freedom has determined enemies, who show no mercy for the innocent, and no respect for the rules of warfare. Many societies in the region struggle with poverty and illiteracy, many rulers in the region have longstanding habits of control; many people in the region have deeply ingrained habits of fear.
He might have added that the enemies of freedom are not limited to certain “rulers in the region.” i can think of quite a few naysayers in Europe and right here at home who suffer from “deeply ingrained habits of fear,” which prevent them from seeing the truly revolutionary nature of President Bush’s foreign policy.
We know that freedom, by definition, must be chosen, and that the democratic institutions of other nations will not look like our own. Yet we also know that our security increasingly depends on the hope and progress of other nations now simmering in despair and resentment. And that hope and progress is found only in the advance of freedom.
This advance is a consistent theme of American strategy -- from the Fourteen Points, to the Four Freedoms, to the Marshall Plan, to the Reagan Doctrine. Yet the success of this approach does not depend on grand strategy alone. We are confident that the desire for freedom, even when repressed for generations, is present in every human heart. And that desire can emerge with sudden power to change the course of history.
. . . Those who place their hope in freedom may be attacked and challenged, but they will not ultimately be disappointed, because freedom is the design of humanity and freedom is the direction of history.
Lofty words, but i think the perspective of history will see them backed up by concrete results.
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Posted by: JD at March 09, 2005 03:33 AM (pQrtL)
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Annie,
I was going to post on thie, but I couldn't possibly say it better than you did. Great job. I'll link to you instead. Trying to get trackback to work, but I can't. I'll just do a general link to the site.
Posted by: Pursuit at March 09, 2005 07:00 AM (VqIuy)
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"i said: “For years, the US was criticized for propping up dictators to further our own national interest, especially in Central and South America. And these dictators were bad men, but they were our bad men. . . . Now the US is not propping up friendly dictators [anymore]; instead we try to bring friendly democracies to the places we need them."
In my view, we just took care of the bigger fish frist. We took care of the USSR, and now we are cleaning up the mess we made when we too care of the USSR. Saddam was created by us, and he was taken care of by us.
Posted by: cube at March 09, 2005 07:04 AM (nyNr0)
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At best Saddam was allowed to be by the US rivalry with the USSR, and we may have encouraged his fight with Iran, but in the end, were the Republican Guard supporting AKs or M16s, T72s or Abrams's? I was in the USSR when the first Gulf War took place. The Russkies kept saying that they didn't sell their best AA gear to the Iraqis - however, after we crushed their air defenses, the entire Central Asian command of the Air Defense Corps (a seprate branch of the Soviet Military) was fired, along with the overall commanding general. Saddam owed his existance in large part to Brezhnev, and everyone over there knew it.
Posted by: John at March 09, 2005 04:20 PM (YFWw+)
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Fourteen Minutes To Go!
Yesterday
they mentioned my idea on MSNBC, and now today they're talking about me on Fox News! Click on the picture to see the clip.
Fame! i wanna live forever!
Remember the annika's Blogversary Poker Party is Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m. California time.
remember... remember... remember...
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But... that's during the CU College Republicans meeting! Some guy is gonna be there, and he's gonna say some stuff!
Posted by: Weezie at March 08, 2005 02:50 PM (yw70C)
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Even more impressive than that, I hear Casca talks about you in his sleep!
Posted by: Pursuit at March 08, 2005 03:03 PM (VqIuy)
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Nah, it's more like in that nether region when you first wake up in the morning, and you've got a blue veiner.
So, are we supposed to show up drunk, or work into it after we get there? Will there be other instructions forthcoming?
Posted by: Casca at March 08, 2005 03:28 PM (cdv3B)
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Annika,
If the law thing doesn't work out (Heaven forfend), you've got a slam-dunk career as a comedy writer ahead of you. Holy shit, I laughed my ass off.
Kevin
Posted by: Kevin Kim at March 08, 2005 09:16 PM (qPBpH)
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March 07, 2005
Jeff Jarvis Mentions My Elton John Idea On MSNBC
This is big.
i thought he was joking when James Ozark, who runs A Western Heart, alerted me to the fact that Jeff Jarvis had mentioned my Elton John for U.N. Secretary General idea on MSNBC today.
But it's true! Here's the Quicktime video to prove it.
i'm so jazzed, i'm gonna have that .mpg file bronzed and hang it on the fucking wall!
i told you my idea would catch on like wildfire. Dinitellyou? i sure did! And you know why? Because it's a great idea, that's why. Singers and international politics go together like liver and onions.
Check it out. Now they want Bono for president of the World Bank, and Bush just named Michael Bolton as Ambassador to the U.N.
Ha ha, and i started the whole ball rolling! Me, me, me, me, me!
Tip of the hat to Jackson's Junction.
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Heh, it's a small universe. Get over it.
Did I ever tell you about the time when that fucker Einstein stole my relativity idea?
Posted by: Casca at March 07, 2005 09:06 PM (cdv3B)
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good for u... went to wathc cute... heee... sweet!! yah!
Posted by: maizzy at March 08, 2005 05:11 AM (zBvQB)
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A fork in the road of life for you. What did you want to be?
Queen of the UN or Queen of the Robots?
Posted by: jake at March 08, 2005 07:14 AM (AHM4a)
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Hmm...he credited some unknown, lesser blogger with your idea.
Posted by: Victor and his seventeen pet rats at March 09, 2005 05:34 AM (L3qPK)
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No no, Victor. He mentioned A Western Heart, which is a great new international blog at which i sometimes contribute. They get like 26,000 hits a week.
Posted by: annika at March 09, 2005 07:36 AM (VNMLW)
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Oh. I always thought any other blog, including the biggies, was an unknown, lesser blog, when compared with annika's journal, especially on your blogiversary.
Posted by: Victor and his seventeen pet rats at March 09, 2005 07:42 AM (L3qPK)
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Lefty Comes Out?
Say it ain't so Phil?!
Please tell me that was photoshopped...
p.s. i know there's a "skins" joke in there somewhere...
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that's very funny... made me giggle this morning... heee...
Posted by: maizzy at March 08, 2005 04:54 AM (zBvQB)
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Like the blog and just wanted to say it makes for especially good reading out here in Baghdad!
Posted by: Danjel at March 09, 2005 08:49 AM (7a+SK)
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Glad u like it Danjel! Come back anytime.
Posted by: annika at March 09, 2005 11:46 AM (x2PHC)
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Huh? Moments From This Morning's Interview With The Chimp Lady
LaDonna Davis: "...
and then he chomped off my thumb..."
Charlie Gibson: "...you knew right away he was attacking..."
Me: "...Duuuh..."
LaDonna Davis: "...we tried to reason with them..."
Me: "...Duuuh..."
LaDonna Davis: "...I don't know where his thoughts were coming from..."
Me: "...Duuuh..."
LaDonna Davis: "...Everybody's an individual, you have to look for the good. Every being, every animal's an individual..."
Me: "...it's a fucking chimp, dude..."
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Reason?? With a Chimp??? Sorry lady, I don't think so. Reasoning doesn't work even with the chimps who "speak" using ASL.
snort.
Posted by: caltechgirl at March 07, 2005 11:19 AM (5VQpT)
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I am so right there withya! They adopted a chimp???
Posted by: Dawn Summers at March 07, 2005 02:12 PM (HLOeu)
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Mr. Davis should've spent less time watching Disney movies, and more time reading Capstick, Ruark and Hemingway. Even cute and cuddly wild animals are not cute and cuddly. All of this humanization of animals crap is just that: Crap. And Mrs. Davis still hasn't figured it out. In another interview she said "Every animal, every being has good. That's what you have to bring out of them." Wrong. They're
animals, not people. There is no good or evil in them: Just dangerous or non-dangerous.
Posted by: Matt at March 07, 2005 02:27 PM (SIlfx)
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Right, Matt. They love to treat animals like humans, but imagine if a human had maimed the Davis' in the same way. i bet they wouldn't speak so kindly about their attackers then.
Posted by: annika at March 07, 2005 02:42 PM (zAOEU)
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Eh, it's just natural selection at work. Live and learn, or die stupid.
Posted by: Casca at March 07, 2005 04:49 PM (cdv3B)
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I used to be an ole sentimental softie, thought folks should have chimps and other wild animals as pets. But this certainly has changed my mind. Oy.
Posted by: Ron (Naughtypundit) at March 07, 2005 05:54 PM (hhb4a)
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The Best Line(s) Ever on this subject, by
Ace: "Eminent primate researcher Dr. David Atlee was asked why 'reason' proved futile in calming the chimps. 'I would have to view the video to watch for hostility displays and behavioral clues, but at the present moment, my working theory is that attempts to reason with them failed because they're fucking monkeys.'"
Posted by: Matt at March 08, 2005 06:19 AM (SIlfx)
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March 06, 2005
Their Eyes Were Watching God
Haven't seen that much tongue on tv since
Huell Howser went to
Canter's on Fairfax.
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Fairfax County, Virginia? My hometown?
Kevin
Posted by: Kevin Kim at March 07, 2005 03:52 AM (raniu)
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The previews looked like crap to me.
Posted by: JD at March 07, 2005 05:08 AM (pQrtL)
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Oh, there really is nothing like Canters. Though I think Sollys in the valley (on Van Nuys Blvd just above Ventura) gives it a run for its money...
Posted by: Hugo Schwyzer at March 07, 2005 09:56 AM (Qst0d)
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i'm partial to Canter's chicken and matzoh ball soup. Solley's has an excellent Monte Christo. For pastrami, though you must head over to Junior's on Westwood Blvd.
The best pastrami dip i've tasted. Although some say Langer's is better, it's in such a bad neighborhood, i never tried it.
Posted by: annika at March 07, 2005 10:35 AM (zAOEU)
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I realize this is very far away, but if you ever get a chance, you must try Primanti Brothers in Pittsburgh.
Posted by: JD at March 07, 2005 11:46 AM (pQrtL)
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Primanti Brothers
at 2 am every drunk in pitt will be there.
next to the old porduce loading docks in pitt.
you will see a biker next to a deb. next to the couple from the opera.
the damndest grouping of humanity you will ever see in your life.
good sandwiches too. can't figure the fries on the sandwich though.
Posted by: louielouie at March 07, 2005 12:37 PM (i7mWl)
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Mmmmm...Canter's is good stuff (especially though certainly not exclusively with a bunch of drunken DA summer clerks at some insane hour in the morning). Between there and Katz's on the Lower East Side is a close call. A few delis in South Florida and at least one on Rue St. Lawrence on Montreal give them a run for their money, too, but since I forgot their names they obviously can't be QUITE as good.
Posted by: Dave J at March 07, 2005 07:37 PM (CYpG7)
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Major League Bloggers
i've started a fantasy baseball league for bloggers on Yahoo! The League is called MLBloggers (Major League Bloggers, get it?).
It's a rotisserie league with a non-live draft. Rotisserie is cool because it's less time consuming than head-to-head leagues. You can tinker with your line-up as much or as little as you want.
So far ten bloggers have signed up:
Dawn Summers' of Clareified has the East Coco Beach Metropolitans;
Victor the Rat-Boy of Publius and Company has the Rats of Chaos;
Ted of Rocket Jones has the Rockets;
Paul of Sanity's Edge has the Sanity's Edge... ers;
Matt of Irreverent Probity has the Biloxi Turds (eeew);
Greg of The End Zone has Hank's Homey's, and explains the name thusly;
Zombyboy of Resurrection Song has the Zombyesque Zombies;
The Maximum Leader of Nakedvillainy has the Bashers;
Physics Geek of Physics Geek has the Physics Geeks;
And then there's my own annika's A's.
There's room for two more bloggers in the league. If you wanna join Major League Bloggers just shoot me an email and i'll send you the password. You have to have a Yahoo! id to sign up.
Fantasy baseball is a grat way to follow the season, and it's fun to get interested in different players that you wouldn't normally care about if they're not on your hometown team.
Oh, and as an added inducement, i'll award a championship stein from cafepress to the winner at the end of the season. As if bragging rights weren't enough!
On a related note, don't forget this Wednesday is the annie's journal blogversary poker party. Details will be posted later on.
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Football starts in August. ;-)
Posted by: JD at March 07, 2005 05:20 AM (pQrtL)
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All I'm sayin' is that the Zombyesque Zombies are poised to be the best darned fantasy baseball team
ever. Just ask any of the baseball pundits and they'll tell you.
No. Really.
Posted by: zombyboy at March 07, 2005 11:55 AM (1yNBe)
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Do we use wooden bats? If we use wooden bats, a few of them might end up with chew marks on them.
OTOH, they
are easier to cork.
Posted by: Victor and his seventeen pet rats at March 09, 2005 07:45 AM (L3qPK)
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Softcore Robotica
Pollhost censored me.
If you click on "My most controversial poll ever: Which two androids should be fucking?" you will find that they shut me down without even a warning. Those bastards.
But i'm not deterred by the new decency standards. As a proud blogger, if i want to write about robots fucking, i will insist on my first amendment right to use the f-word.
Anyways, the excitement of my "most controversial poll ever" died down pretty quickly after the result became a forgone conclusion. Last i checked, i looked like about 70% of voters wanted to see Star Trek Voyager's Borg chick, 7 of 9, get together with the Daryl Hannah replicant from Blade Runner.
Not a bad choice you pervs, but if you ask me, the obvious choice should have been Inspector Gadget and the late Optimus Prime. Two transformers? Come on people. Think of the all mechanical/sexual permutations that would have been possible.
At any rate. i aim to please, so here's your robotic fantasy come to life:
As for me, if i could get it on with the android of my choice, it would have to be this hottie, no contest.
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Alas, the word has not reached you... queer as a three dollar bill.
Posted by: Casca at March 06, 2005 12:19 PM (cdv3B)
2
Erm.. but 7 of 9 was not an android, she was a Borg; a humanoid with some artificial implants!
You could put the poll up again. Just replace the word "fuck" with "gittin' it ouuun".
Posted by: Tuning Spork at March 06, 2005 04:38 PM (R9/S3)
3
Don't miss Robot Chicken on Cartoon Network tonight.
Posted by: Spanky at March 06, 2005 05:05 PM (hlMFQ)
4
TS, if you wanna be technical about it, replicants aren't really androids either because they aren't machines.
Thankfully, the editors of annika's journal aren't sticklers for such details.
Posted by: annika at March 06, 2005 06:34 PM (h0+/d)
5
Darryl Hannah's character's name in Blade Runner was Pris. See, I can avoid getting all technical and stuff and still remember her name afterwards! Ain't I the romantic?
--HH
Posted by: Go 4 TLI (formerly HH in Hollywood) at March 06, 2005 08:27 PM (faCTk)
6
I'm not entirely sure that Lisa from Weird Science (Kelly LeBrock) was actually a robot but, assuming she was, I'm very disappointed that a pairing of her with the Terminator-X from T3 (Kristanna Loken) wasn't an available choice. Or a pairing of any of the other putatively female choices with the T-X, for that matter. You wanna talk about permutations?
As an aside, Rachael (Sean Young) was the biggest babe in
Blade Runner, hands-down.
Posted by: Matt at March 07, 2005 07:09 AM (SIlfx)
7
Rachel was definitely hotter than Pris. That aside,
Damn anti robot-fucking Nazis.
Posted by: JD at March 07, 2005 11:51 AM (pQrtL)
8
Rachel may have been better looking, but she seemed colder than snow in Alaska. Pris, OTOH, would've left boot marks in the ceiling, without the aid of a trampoline.
Posted by: Victor and his seventeen pet rats at March 09, 2005 07:47 AM (L3qPK)
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Germans
Always pushing the envelope of
efficiency.
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1
I've always found the water too cold in those.
Posted by: Radical Redneck at March 06, 2005 09:20 AM (NqqTL)
2
As my dearest Mum, who fed me apple pie, likes to put it when the is RATFLOL:
"Scheisse im Kannonenrohr kommt zum Glueck sehr selten vor!"
--HH
Posted by: Go 4 TLI (formerly HH in Hollywood) at March 06, 2005 09:14 PM (faCTk)
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March 04, 2005
Extremes Of Flirting
Flirting that's too subtle:
When the barrista, the cute one with the reddish hair and high cheekbones, calls you hon, twice, and flashes that smile, and then when you smile back and your eyes meet, and there's that slight pause, barely imperceptible, but you notice it, and you think there's a moment there that maybe you might capitalize on later, and then you turn your back and slowly step over to the cream and sugar table, and you think you feel his eyes on you as you go, and it makes you feel sort of sexy, but instead you overhear him calling the next customer hon too, even twice... That's flirtation so subtle as to be non-existent.
Flirting that's not subtle enough:
When you're standing at the professor's table after class, and there's a big crowd of students around, some also waiting for the prof and some just trying to get out of the classroom, and you're waiting your turn patiently and some dude is trying to get by and so you turn your back to make room, and he turns his back and starts to slide sideways by you, and there's no more room cuz you're up against a desk and he keeps sliding instead of turning around and going out the other door like a reasonable non-perv would do, and then your ass cheeks slide-bump-slide-bump-slide together in a moment so intimate you almost want to be held afterwards... That's flirtation that could stand a little more subtlety.
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1
I think I'll step outside and smoke a cigarette now.
Posted by: JD at March 04, 2005 12:10 PM (pQrtL)
2
Really, sorry! I know you don't believe this, but I thought there was room!
Posted by: Pursuit at March 04, 2005 12:49 PM (VqIuy)
3
I'm fairly proud of my flirting style. What I do, see, is go to a public place like a mall and wait for a woman to come to me, as they always do. The exchange usually goes like this:
Woman: What the hell are you doing, you freak??
Me [pulling hands out of pants]: My name is Bond. James Bond. I keep a secret spy phone down there and the antenna was acting up. How 'bout a date?
Woman: [Shouts for secutiry]
Me: [Runs like hell]
---------------
Pretty smooth, eh?
Posted by: ccwbass at March 04, 2005 01:33 PM (PGYaq)
4
I prefer the strait forward approach:
HOW YOU DOING?
Want to go Get some Pizza and F$#K?
(Slap)
What? you don't like pizza?
Posted by: lawguy at March 04, 2005 08:25 PM (U0IaD)
5
The barrista reminds me of the "Raisins"(Hooters wannabes) episode of South Park. He just wants his overly generous tip like a good manwhore would.
Posted by: Spanky at March 04, 2005 10:57 PM (hlMFQ)
6
Actually, lawguy, I had a friend in San Diego in the 80's who used that very approach, and he would use it on every girl in a club until it worked. He usually got popped a few times, yes, be he ALWAYS hooked up. I didn't have the nerve to try it.
Posted by: JD at March 05, 2005 03:31 AM (pQrtL)
7
Of course, he could just have been trying to get past you. On second thought, that would be ridiculous.
Posted by: Mark at March 05, 2005 06:43 AM (nQAo8)
Posted by: Casca at March 05, 2005 12:13 PM (cdv3B)
9
I've never thought of uninvited butt-rubbing with a relative stranger (?) as "flirting." Assault? Yes. A cheap thrill? Maybe. But not flirting.
Posted by: Matt at March 06, 2005 12:45 AM (TLYaI)
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Free Martha
i was one of those who thought that Martha got railroaded. But still, i am sad to see her get out of prison for the sole reason that
Jeff's hilarious series of blog posts must now come to an end.
And, he's a Prufrock fan!
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1
I don't like Martha at all, but I agree. I don't think she did one thing 99% of her mega-bucks ilk haven't also done, but no one went after them.
Posted by: JD at March 04, 2005 11:47 AM (pQrtL)
2
I'm from the federal government.... No comment. How hard is that?
Posted by: Mark at March 05, 2005 06:45 AM (nQAo8)
3
Martha has sociopathic & meglomaniacal tendencies, i.e. she doesn't really give a fuck about other people, and that tends to come through, thus she is outwardly cold. Her real sin was being stupid/arrogant enough to talk to lawyers.
Jeff Goldstein is fucking hilarious!! My head still hurts.
Posted by: Casca at March 06, 2005 12:29 PM (cdv3B)
4
Martha shoulda got da chair!
(You may think I'm joking, but I'm not.)
Posted by: Victor and his seventeen pet rats at March 07, 2005 05:04 AM (L3qPK)
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March 03, 2005
Damn Dirty Apes...
Isn't this how the Planet of the Apes began?Two people were seriously injured and two chimpanzees were shot dead today in Kern County after several chimps broke from their cages at an animal sanctuary and attacked workers.
. . .
Animal Haven employees shot and killed two of the escaped chimpanzees, but two other chimps remain on the loose. Officials say it is unclear how the animals escaped from their cages.
Freaky.
Those chimps could be anywhere by now. Especially if they hijack a car. Be careful out there, and don't trust them treacherous chimps. Frank J. is right. They'll kill you, first chance they get.
Update: We can all breathe easier, the fugitive simians have been recaptured.
Those apes are animals. Literally.
KGET-TV of Bakersfield said the man and woman were at the Animal Haven Ranch to celebrate the birthday of Moe, which was not involved in today's attack.
After the couple arrived with a cake, two other chimpanzees - named Buddy and Ollie - went for the visitors.
Dr Maureen Martin, of Kern Medical Centre, said the apes had chewed most of the man's face off and that he would require extensive surgery in an attempt to reattach his nose.
LaDonna Davis suffered a bite wound to the hand.
Buddy and Ollie were shot and killed. Two other chimps which had also escaped were recaptured - one was cornered three kilometres from the sanctuary, 137kms north of downtown Los Angeles.
Well they were asking for it. Who the fuck gives a cake to a chimp? Everyone knows their diet consists of bananas. Well, that and
PEOPLE'S FACES! apparently.
Update: i hadn't heard about the dude's nuts getting eaten, until OC Chuck and Papertiger's comments. Ouch. Since both of the above links seem to be broken, here's the ABC News story.
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1
Alas for the small pre-hominids.
Kevin
Posted by: Kevin Kim at March 04, 2005 05:54 AM (VAtN1)
Posted by: maizzy at March 04, 2005 06:42 AM (BYUa2)
3
As a Masshole would say, "Wicked funny!"
Once again, you out do yourself Annika with hilarious blogging!
Posted by: Roach at March 04, 2005 07:47 AM (DHoAQ)
4
It's all good until someone loses a nose.
Posted by: JD at March 04, 2005 11:48 AM (pQrtL)
5
He didn't only lose face, but he lost his "manliness" and a foot. Seriously.
Posted by: OC Chuck at March 04, 2005 12:19 PM (5ZsaL)
6
-just heard about this on the news.
You left out the part about the attacking simians biting off the liberal asshat's testicles, along with his face. Darwin award winner.
Think kindly of me and cats of all kinds. We eat those apes, not just because they are tasty, but because it's the
right thing to do.
Paper Tiger
Posted by: Papertiger at March 04, 2005 12:20 PM (+7VNs)
7
So much for the Disney set's bullshit, touchy-feely humanization of critters. Wild animals aren't our "friends," and they sure as hell aren't human. They will fuck you up. There's a
reason that it can be a term of derision to call someone an "animal."
Posted by: Matt at March 04, 2005 10:17 PM (TLYaI)
8
"Everybody was trying to get the chimp off," Chealander said. LOL
Posted by: MW at March 05, 2005 08:50 AM (X89Ve)
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Useless Apprentice Blogging
Audrey:
In the end those of us that walk away winning win more than just a loss.
Huh?
You just lost babe. That made no sense whatsoever.
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I love hot chicks that are crazy.
By the way, the obnoxious guy she kept fighting with is all mouth. I know a lot of people like that, that don't respect women in the workplace and tell chicks they're "cute" in a business setting before dismissing them.
Fact is, their tiny little pee-pees are threatened.
Posted by: Paul at March 04, 2005 04:42 AM (vbP6L)
2
She revealed herself to be quite a whack job. The guy she was fighting with set her up all the way. I wonder if she realizes it yet?
Posted by: Pursuit at March 04, 2005 05:46 AM (VqIuy)
3
Live in a car, leave in a cab.
Posted by: gary at March 04, 2005 09:18 AM (wCMjq)
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Welcome To The Jungle, Randy!
Okay Randy Moss is a punk, but
he's a silver and black punk now, so that makes him okay in my book. And he's an awesome receiver, the real deal. Hopefully Davis won't decide to bench him like he did with some other stars i can name: Allen, Brown, Rice.
There are always guys who have that certain something that makes you know they will end up as Raiders someday. Kevin Greene had the hair. Sapp and Romo had the 'tude. Rice had the Bay Area love. And Moss has the bad-ass. When he faked dropping trou at Green Bay last year i said to myself, that guy belongs in Oakland.
Welcome Randy. The black hole is gonna love you!
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1
And Alzado had the steroids.
Say what you will about them, the Raiders are the only team today that even tries to have a distinctive personality. If someone decided one morning to send the Baltimore Ravens back to Cleveland and send the "new" Cleveland Browns to Baltimore in exchange, I doubt that anyone would be able to tell the difference.
Posted by: Ontario Emperor at March 03, 2005 12:11 PM (v9NCH)
2
Now all they need is Maurice Claret to round things out.
Posted by: Casca at March 03, 2005 03:50 PM (cdv3B)
3
Casca,
ROFL
did you catch his 40 times at the combine.
first pass was a blistering 4.86.
he followed that with a 4.72.
not bad for a d-tackle.
the 6'-6" stork of a q-back from arkansas posted a 4.4.
geez.
Posted by: louielouie at March 03, 2005 05:10 PM (i7mWl)
4
He's a lazy stupid cocksucker, or perhaps you hadn't noticed. Better than his pathetic performance was his excuse. You see, he had overtrained, and was too muscular. Can you tell that Jim Brown is his mentor?
I predict that Mo rees goes undrafted, and doesn't make it as a free agent through ANYBODY'S camp. He'll be bagging groceries at Ruly's by September. Stupid fuck.
Posted by: Casca at March 03, 2005 10:17 PM (cdv3B)
5
Why the fuck is Moss wearing #18??
This Vikings fan is afraid that we got rid of him just as he was about to mature.
Posted by: Todd at March 04, 2005 08:51 PM (rywVr)
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Announcement
Jake is the annika's journal
Man of the Year!
Congratulations, Jake on this great honor!
: )
Posted by: annika at
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1
So you're giving up on Jerry from the Bachlorette?
Posted by: Pursuit at March 03, 2005 08:19 AM (VqIuy)
2
What have I missed? Jake who? How does one get this honor?
Posted by: Hugo at March 03, 2005 08:27 AM (Qst0d)
Posted by: JD at March 03, 2005 08:46 AM (pQrtL)
4
Congratulations, Jake!
Who's Jake?
Posted by: Victor and his seventeen pet rats at March 03, 2005 11:02 AM (L3qPK)
5
I am Man of the Year because I deserve it.
Posted by: Jake at March 03, 2005 12:29 PM (r/5D/)
Posted by: d-rod at March 03, 2005 02:44 PM (CSRmO)
7
What's he get, a fucking Annika coaster?
Posted by: Casca at March 03, 2005 03:51 PM (cdv3B)
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March 02, 2005
Bubba Is Dead
Bubba,
the giant lobster, is dead.
Update: At 24 lbs., they could feed 32 mourners using this recipe. They should try it at Bubba's after-funeral pot luck.
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1
goodness, poor bubba-lobby... i think it was in our news yesterday night... wasnt paying to much attention as i was at a friends and they had the tv on... yes, we have dont have alot of crime here in good old mtl... heee... have a good one...
Posted by: maizzy at March 03, 2005 06:01 AM (J6XIN)
2
mmmmmmmmmmmmm...lobster....
Posted by: Pursuit at March 03, 2005 08:18 AM (VqIuy)
3
He was a big 'ol boy, but I saw one approximately a foot larger in Thailand in 1986. They say that one weighed 40 pounds. I love lobster, but more experienced people have told me really gigantic bugs like these don't taste all that good.
Posted by: JD at March 03, 2005 08:38 AM (pQrtL)
4
did you hear what peta (People for Eating Tasty Animals) wanted to do with him?
Posted by: cube at March 07, 2005 09:39 AM (nyNr0)
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Wednesday Is Poetry Day
The Roman poet Ovidius, who was Jesus' contemporary, knew a little bit about the ladies. As a public service for my male visitors, whether single and looking or happily married, i have selected the following excerpt from Ovid's
The Art of Love. Ovid's poetry is always fun, despite the fact that he was a lawyer. It's amazing how timeless his advice can be.
Book I Part XIV
DonÂ’t delight in curling your hair with tongs,
donÂ’t smooth your legs with sharp pumice stone.
Leave that to those who celebrate Cybele the Mother,
howling wildly in the Phrygian manner.
Male beautyÂ’s better for neglect: Theseus
carried off Ariadne, without a single pin in his hair.
Phaedra loved Hippolytus: he was unsophisticated:
Adonis was dear to the goddess, and fit for the woods.
Neatness pleases, a body tanned from exercise:
a well fitting and spotless togaÂ’s good:
no stiff shoe-thongs, your buckles free of rust,
no sloppy feet for you, swimming in loose hide:
donÂ’t mar your neat hair with an evil haircut:
let an expert hand trim your head and beard.
And no long nails, and make sure theyÂ’re dirt-free:
and no hairs please, sprouting from your nostrils.
No bad breath exhaled from unwholesome mouth:
donÂ’t offend the nose like a herdsman or his flock.
Leave the rest for impudent women to do,
or whoeverÂ’s the sort of man who needs a man.
Translation by
A. S. Kline, 2001.
In other words, don't stink, brush your teeth once in a while, keep yourself clean, but not too neat. Some muscles and a nice tan are always a plus. Chicks still dig a manly man, so please don't shave your legs and it's time to stop getting free haircuts from mom. Spend the money on a good stylist, but don't overdo it. You don't wanna look like a chick, and you definitely don't wanna look gay.
A lumberjack style plaid toga might have been a good choice when cruising the forum for babes, i would imagine.
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1
Believe it or not, these rules will come in handy for the next toga party.
BTW, thanks for the advice! It was way more than I expected, and I'll be sure to put it to good use.
Posted by: Weezie at March 02, 2005 11:19 PM (yw70C)
2
Poor Ovid. I always feel sorry for him, knowing that he ends up banished by Augustus. I have sometimes read sections of the Ars Amoris aloud to my classes, and I've seen one or two fellows taking copious notes.
Posted by: Hugo at March 03, 2005 08:26 AM (Qst0d)
3
Amazing that this can be so pertinent 2,000 years later..I'm feeling mildly neglectful already. ;-)
Posted by: JD at March 03, 2005 08:44 AM (pQrtL)
4
Stylist?
Stylist?! Real men use barbers, thanks! Preferably Korean barbers. (The really good ones give an awesome neck massage.) And a real man's haircut should involve a straight razor and, ideally, both hot lather
and a very hot, damp towel. In my experience, the best haircut in the United States (for a man) can be had at Sukhe's barbershop in Lawton, Oklahoma, just outside the gate to Fort Sill. It was about $4 in 1994; it might be up to $5 or $6 now. I used to go there about once a week, even if I didn't really need the haircut.
Posted by: Matt at March 03, 2005 09:40 AM (SIlfx)
5
"Male beautyÂ’s better for neglect." Well, as long as you take the advice in moderation.
For those of us who weren't paying attention during lessons on the classics, who is Cybele the Mother?
Posted by: Ontario Emperor at March 03, 2005 12:15 PM (v9NCH)
6
"
Cybele: in ancient Asian religion, the Great Mother Goddess. The chief centers of her early worship were Phrygia and Lydia. In the 5th cent. B.C. her cult was introduced into Greece, where she was associated with Demeter and Rhea. The spread of her cult to Rome late in the 3d cent. B.C. was marked chiefly by her Palatine temple. Cybele was primarily a nature goddess, responsible for maintaining and reproducing the wild things of the earth. As guardian of cities and nations, however, she was also entrusted with the general welfare of the people. She was attended by the Corybantes and Dactyls, who honored her with wild music and dancing. At her annual spring festival, the death and resurrection of her beloved Attis were celebrated. She frequented mountains and woodland areas and was usually represented either riding a chariot drawn by lions or seated on a throne flanked by two lions. Cybele is frequently identified with various other mother goddesses, notably Agdistis."
Posted by: annika at March 03, 2005 02:17 PM (zAOEU)
7
Yes, but did she swallow?
Posted by: Casca at March 03, 2005 10:23 PM (cdv3B)
Posted by: JD at March 04, 2005 04:53 AM (pQrtL)
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MoveOn.org's Losing Streak
Rolling Stone has
a good article regarding the ineffectiveness of those arrogant jerks at MoveOn.org. Here are the highlights:
They signed up 500,000 supporters with an Internet petition -- but Bill Clinton still got impeached. They organized 6,000 candlelight vigils worldwide -- but the U.S. still invaded Iraq. They raised $60 million from 500,000 donors to air countless ads and get out the vote in the battle-ground states -- but George Bush still whupped John Kerry. A gambler with a string of bets this bad might call it a night. But MoveOn.org just keeps doubling down.
. . .
Moveon is guided by a tiny, tightknit group of leaders. There are only ten of them, still deeply committed to the Internet start-up ethos of working out of their homes and apartments in better-dead-than-red bastions such as Berkeley, California, Manhattan and Washington, D.C. For a political organization that likes to rail against 'the consulting class of professional election losers,' MoveOn seems remarkably unconcerned about its own win-loss record. Talk to the group's leadership and you won't hear much about the agony of defeat.
. . .
But some insiders worry that putting left-wing idealists in charge of speaking to the center seems about as likely to work as chewing gum with your feet. 'There's a built-in tension between the views of people who are part of MoveOn and contribute to it, and the people they're trying to reach,' says Ed Kilgore of the centrist Democratic Leadership Council.
. . .
If speaking to the center was MoveOn's goal, 'they failed miserably,' says Greg Strimple, a media consultant who advised the Senate campaigns of three GOP moderates. 'None of their ads had an impact on the center electorate that needed to be swung.' If the group's leadership saw anything broken with its advertising during the campaign, though, it shows no signs of fixing it. In a rush to get its new Social Security ad on the air, MoveOn didn't even test it.
The ad, which depicts senior citizens performing manual labor, was not only paid for by MoveOn members but was also created by them. This kind of closed feedback loop is indicative of a larger problem: the group's almost hermetic left-wing insularity. 'We don't get around much,' acknowledges Boyd. 'We tend to all stay in front of our keyboards and do the work.'
. . .
So who is MoveOn? Consider this: Howard Dean finished first in the MoveOn primary. Number Two wasn't John Kerry or John Edwards -- it was Dennis Kucinich. Listing the issues that resonate most with their membership, Boyd and Blades cite the environment, the Iraq War, campaign-finance reform, media reform, voting reform and corporate reform. Somewhere after freedom, opportunity and responsibility comes 'the overlay of security concerns that everybody shares.' Terrorism as a specific concern is notably absent. As are jobs. As is health care. As is education.
There's nothing inherently good or bad in any of this. It's just that MoveOn's values aren't middle-American values. They're the values of an educated, steadily employed middle and upper-middle class with time to dedicate to politics -- and disposable income to leverage when they're agitated. That's fine, as long as the group sticks to mobilizing fellow travelers on the left. But the risks are greater when it presumes to speak for the entire party.
[emphasis added]
Far-left voices like MoveOn, in my opinion, will continue to influence the party until what will become known by Democrats as "the disastrous midterms of 2006." Then, hopefully some sanity will return to the party of FDR, and they'll kick these freakos to the curb.
Or not.
Update: Brittany weighs in with her own opinion of Rolling Stone:
I think the same guy who does Rolling Stone does Us Weekly. He's this big old fat man.
Brilliant.
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1
I think Michael Moore, MoveOn, and the liberal bloggers need a reality check. Have to realize that not everybody agrees with them. Goal should be to convert moderate mainstream Americans, not play to a tiny extremist minority.
Posted by: Ron (Naughtypundit) at March 02, 2005 03:25 PM (IG7/r)
2
Annie:
Who asked you to help these gekes out? They siphon precious dollars away from campaigns that might be put to use in a more efficient way to hurt the good guys.
STFU and let them wallow in their misery. As for myself, I prefer to just keep quiet and enjoy the thrill of victory. I like to allow them the space to enjoy the agony of defeat.
Posted by: shelly at March 02, 2005 05:37 PM (+7VNs)
3
I just can't believe the irony of Rolling Stone saying that "MoveOn's values aren't middle-American values"...Rolling Stone, which couldn't represent middle-American values any less than they already do...
Posted by: Robbie at March 02, 2005 06:10 PM (htx4h)
4
As they say, "Never interrupt your enemy when he's in the process of self-destructing".
Posted by: Casca at March 02, 2005 06:12 PM (cdv3B)
5
The leaders of Moveon are well on their way to becoming millionaires. That is the only objective they care about.
Politics is just a method and a distraction to their quest for wealth.
Posted by: Jake at March 02, 2005 06:42 PM (r/5D/)
6
I may be mistaken but isn't the Social Security ad just a rip off of the kids doing manual labor one that won their election ad contest?
Posted by: Stephen Macklin at March 02, 2005 08:51 PM (U3CvV)
7
Ah, yes, Brittney..the intellect that never began giving in the first place..
Posted by: JD at March 03, 2005 09:16 AM (pQrtL)
8
Both of the major political parties in the U.S. participate in a predictable veer between ideology and practicality.
And I'm not ready to proclaim Republican victory in the 2006 elections just yet - especially in the middle of a lame duck second term.
Posted by: Ontario Emperor at March 03, 2005 12:20 PM (v9NCH)
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