owl

Unfortunately, with Iraq, I once believed that we owe the Iraqi people- after invading their country and turning their men, women, and children into collateral damage- the dignity of seeing this through until there is peace. However, the reality is that this is only getting worse and we're going to up and leave sometime, probably without peace. We might as well do it sooner before later. If we continue to wait, we're just being negligent with our troops and paying no respect for our soldiers. So many people have already died for our vanity. (And there are other means to solve this prob

I'm probably just going crazy and even more incoherent than usual because it's the end of the day.

Well, my (perhaps poorly-worded) point was more that people who stay in America actually do appreciate it, even if they threaten to leave, it is a hollow threat. They like it too much to actually follow through. If they truly didn't like it (such as the convenience of being able to say inflammatory things and not be persecuted), they would leave. More a jab at the hypocrites, if that makes any sense.

Here's a picture from the box of the Mattel Waterboard Play Set:

I'm going to get my kid a toy waterboard and a toy AK-47 this Christmas.

One time, when I was driving in upstate PA a few months after September 11, 2001, I saw that some guy had painted a giant plywood eagle with a grip on Osama's giant severed head and eyeballs gouged out. I mean HUGE. Like 30 feet tall.

??

I think that his writings have A LOT to offer everyone, but you're right- they are kind of male-centric. Here's an interesting recent interview from The Guardian (link).

It has been said that Vietnam effectively ended when the draft began. I think that "aiding the enemy" is a bullshit excuse to cap free speech. No offense to you, El F. You didn't come up with the idea. But do you think that the ground fighters in Iraq and Afghanistan have time to surf the net and watch CNN? They just listen to what their leaders say, lies and truth, and they believe it regardless of the reality. I think that short of giving away our secret attack plans or actual treason, evoking the "aiding the enemy" tactic is just a way to turn disagreeing people against each other

Carter was not a great President, but his best work was done later. For this, he should be respected by members of both parties.

Celebrities crack me up sometimes. I know people who would categorically reject anything a celebrity says. I'm not that extreme, but I certainly respect other sources of information much more. Personally, I'd much rather hear about a celebrity donating some of his/her millions to a cause vs. opining about politics.

It is still important to love America as a country- like a sibling or parent- even if you disagree with how it's run. We're not at a point where disagreement is legally traitorous- even if our elected leaders prefer to believe otherwise. We disagree because we love.

I'm definitely ashamed that President Bush is our representative. I'm ashamed to be an American of the image that he portrays.

Nabokov - Strong Opinions Annie Dillard - Writing Life, Holy The Firm Hemingway - For Whom The Bell Tolls Bradbury - Farenheit 451 Richard Ford - Rock Springs Andre Dubus - Adultery & Other Choices, Meditations from a Movable Chair Loren Eiseley - The Star Thrower Melville - Moby Dick Updike - Pigeon Feathers E.B. White - Essays

I totally agree. And any retractions are made quietly and go unnoticed.

Amen to that.

I'm with mjpuczko. If you have a problem with it, you obviously hate our freedom.

That's true. I might add, though, that "well-regulated" and NRA don't really mesh that well.

Sure, this is from the Huffington Post, but it's still pretty important to remember: Link

I just read Independence Day. My lady friend got me a signed first edition for my birfday.

But yeah, the Republicans couldn't get Clinton on anything else, so they busted him on something that they knew every man would lie about- even if he was under oath- an extramarital affair. There oughta be a law against swearing someone under oath for something so unimportant. And I like Hillary and all, but even as her husband, I think I'd rather lie under oath about an affair than piss her off.

Well, that certainly was bullshit, but I'm talking more about people who portray themselves as grand heroes who only want to preserve our constitutional rights- when they actually don't give a shit at all, except when it comes to something that threatens them.

You should check out Rock Springs sometime. It's an easy read, and it's all good. "Great Falls" might be one of my favorite stories of all time.

It is interesting, though, how people like the NRA decry gun control based largely on preservation our constitutional rights, yet could obviously give a shit about something like freedom of the press.