Tuesday musings

So I was going to fisk a couple of articles from today's Moscow on the Huron's edition of Pravda, but the search engine at the AnnArbor New's site can't seem to find the pieces. It's in the freakin' paper, why isn't it available online? Morons.

Anyway, there was a self-fisking article about how terry mccaulif was claiming that GWB's post convention bounce will fade. I sat in the little room with all the plumbing and positively chortled over that one. I hope it's available online in the next couple of days so I can have a proper whack at it.

The other story was about USPS postage stamps that you can customize; as in you could put (almost) any picture you want on a stamp. Not quite a RCOB moment for me, but close. I have issues with all the different stamps (somewhere on the order of 30-40 per year) that are issued by the Postal Service. When I'm President, there will be only one freakin' stamp with our flag on it, dammit. And maybe one with John Wayne. And Nolan Ryan. But that's it. Don't get me started on the whole Post Office issue, I don't have the bandwidth to properly address that one.

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If you're not reading Jim Lileks every day, you should be keel-hauled. His Bleat for Monday is a good read. [Warning: contains 11 September images] Which brings up a point.....

Maybe it's just me, but I think that there should be a mandatory warning for using images from 11 September. I mean, you're just sitting there watching TV / reading the paper or a magazine / surfing the 'Net / whatever and you are suddenly assaulted with one of those pictures. I'm not just talking about that fat guy's stupid, inaccurate, mis-leading propaganda movie: if you were offended by the images he used, shame on you, you should have known better just by the title of the film. I am equally pissed at the GWB re-election campaign for using similar images. That Day hurt, a lot.

Wow, did this post take a really weird turn. I had intended on just fisking a couple of pieces, make some snarky comments on life in general, and consider myself posted. I guess that I have 11 September on my mind, with the Date looming large on the calendar.

This past week, I flew to Louisville for an interview. Why is this relavant? Read on. This evening, the Twins and I were out on a bike ride and had stopped for a water break. A plane flew over, maybe a little lower than normal. Twin the Eldest asks "Is that the plane you were on, Daddy?" "No, honey, that's not the same plane. That's a Boing plane, I was on a McDonald-Douglas plane" (I know, I'm a hopeless geek) Twin the Youngest then very quietly asks "Is that plane going to crash into a building?" The girls will be five in November. WTF do you say? To a four year old? "Daddy, are you going to cry?" I just might, dear child, but we have bikes to ride and it's almost bath time. Saddle up, cowgirls. Let's head to the barn.

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The images of That Day are seared - seared - into their memories, forever distorting their world-view. Yes, shame on us as parents for allowing them to be exposed to such horrors at such a tender age. But with the media using those images for "shock value" on a daily basis, how could they not be exposed? The September 10th people are seemingly un-affected by those images, and they bandy them about quite regularly. I'm surprised that Sesame Street didn't run a "Elmo's Mommy isn't coming home from her job at the World Trade Center today and it's all the evil Republikkkan's fault" special shortly thereafter. Maybe they did; we'd never know. Sesame Street is toward the top of the list of leftist programs that are not viewed at Casa de Heywood.

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I fookin' hate Elmo, BTW. Maybe I'll have some pistol (shotgun?) targets printed up with that little red bastrads image.....ya'think there'd be a market for those? Maybe I'll start a web page: shoot_elmo_in_the_fookin_head . gun. Ahh, my first million.....

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Why is Elmo red, anyway? Subliminal commie indoctrination, maybe? Anyway.....

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Gawd. I'm still pissed, but I've lost the cohesiveness factor. I'd prefer to keep things cogent, so I'll post this puppy and go elsewhere (no more "save as draft" for me).

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To be continued (?)