tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-69528512011-10-18T10:12:38.237-05:00"Slarrow" refers to the "slings and arrows of outrageous fortune" from Hamlet's soliloquy. Here are the chronicles of such darts and whatever attempt there may be to take arms against such a sea of troubles.slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comBlogger1691100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-34893534561237456682010-11-22T14:04:00.002-06:002010-11-22T15:06:26.268-06:00

Here's the thing: I like Sarah Palin quite a lot. But I don't want her to be the next President. What's more, I don't want her to run for the office in 2012.Why don't I want her to be President #45? It's because I think that she, unlike John McCain (who used the label primarily as cover for shoving his finger in his own party's eye), really is a maverick. She made a political career by seeing how

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-30029469220164017492010-10-01T09:40:00.003-05:002010-10-01T09:58:51.807-05:00

I'm getting tired of Barack Obama using the metaphor of Republicans driving the economy into a ditch, then asking for the keys back after the virtuous Democrats have pushed it back onto the road. (Best take on this, as usual, belongs to Iowahawk.) It's phony history, given Democrats control of Congress since 2007 and the significant Democrat fingerprints all over the housing/mortgage mess. So

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-82681274543177717482009-10-16T09:52:00.005-05:002009-10-16T13:33:14.499-05:00

I'm linking this because I want to be able to return to it. Leo Grin from Big Hollywood is introducing a "For Conservative Movie Lovers" series. Here's the best quote:The power of cinema, I humbly propose, is at its peak when harnessed to the task of refreshing and strengthening our civilizational confidence — our deepest loves, our noblest aspirations, our cherished traditions, the beauty and

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-5865406734250214822009-08-28T23:30:00.005-05:002009-08-29T00:28:58.511-05:00

I wanted to write a bit more on how insurance works and why proposals that sound great may not be all that good in reality. Let's start with a basic, stripped down model of what insurance is like.Medical insurance works essentially like this. I'm sitting in a room (call it the Alpha room) with 99 other people, and a guy walks up on stage. He tells us that 5 of us are expected to get the dreaded

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-17449157928854274212009-08-28T23:02:00.005-05:002009-08-29T00:24:20.093-05:00

I posted the following as a comment in response to Ron Rosenbaum's piece on PJMedia.Two factors to keep in mind during all of this, though.First, whether it’s an insurance company or a government panel, you’re asking other people to pay for either (a) your extended life (or, strictly speaking, your postponed death) or (b) your improved life. If your benefit is coming out of someone else’s hide,

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-11876688800457617842009-06-26T15:59:00.001-05:002009-06-26T16:00:11.615-05:00

Michael Jackson has died.For my part, I am saddened and somewhat bemused by Michael Jackson's death. Part of it is age-related. I'm 34, so while Thriller isn't in my memory's sweet spot, some of the Bad songs are, particularly "Smooth Criminal". I'm still awed by the full version of that song in his vanity movie "Moonwalker". When challenged by younger people about actually liking Michael Jackson

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-34755669115151178782009-02-06T12:45:00.000-06:002009-02-06T12:49:45.743-06:00

President Obama ran on a message of hope and change. He was going to bring a new postpartisan approach to the White House. He was going to work with people on the other side of the aisle and put aside the politics of the past. Hope, change, etc. I didn't believe him then, and I don't believe him now:THE PRESIDENT: Now, I just want to say this — I value the constructive criticism and the healthy

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-40451939423970669082009-01-24T08:53:00.002-06:002009-01-24T09:17:47.877-06:00

That didn't take long.President Obama has been trying to obtain bipartisan support and cover for his agenda, so what does he decide to do before his first weekend in office? Bully the Republicans into doing things his way or else.First, he told the Republicans meeting with him to listen to him, not Rush Limbaugh. "You can't just listen to Rush Limbaugh and get things done." Sure, that's a great

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-81807685423216001082009-01-22T13:58:00.005-06:002009-01-23T16:20:55.031-06:00

Today marks the 36th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton decisions. Since I'm 33 years old, today always has a certain significance to me; knowing that it was legal for my mother to end me if she had chosen gives the issue a certain resonance. (Thank heavens my mom knew better.) Even though it's been well over thirty years since the decision, the issue of abortion remains powerful. A

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-70566574242370581232009-01-21T15:24:00.002-06:002009-01-21T15:28:59.403-06:00

Some of the excesses of yesterday coupled with this piece by Dirk Benedict called to mind a poem I had written several years back about celebrities who tried to stump for causes. I've always liked it, so in the spirit of Breitbart's pledge, I'll post it once again.All The Plastic PeopleAll the plastic peopleAre strutting on parade.Now they smile, now they chant,Now they pitch their flags

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-57087268538674519122009-01-20T09:17:00.003-06:002009-01-20T09:33:13.406-06:00

Lost in the midst of all the gushing about "the first black president" (which isn't the proof of "moving beyond race" that people think it is) is the departure of a good and decent man. A popular leadership phrase is, "It's amazing what you can accomplish when you don't care who gets the credit" (attributed to many in different formulations, including Reagan.) President Bush, it seems to me,

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-22851434235481141752009-01-15T13:10:00.003-06:002009-01-15T14:04:06.507-06:00

At NRO and other places, some conservatives have been wondering how to effectively fight back against the seemingly inexorable tide of borrow/spend demand-side economics about to come our way. John Hood began with a call for simple explanations, and some responded. But I think we need a simpler way to open the conversation. During the 80's supply-side economics was belittled and derided as,

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-11428676557678515142008-11-20T12:53:00.000-06:002008-11-20T14:27:53.157-06:00

Jay Nordlinger had an item in his Impromptus the other day that echoed a sentiment I've seen in a few other pieces. He writes:So, I’m on an airplane, and there’s a New York magazine jammed into the pocket. The cover shows a picture of an infant with his fist up. He is wearing a shirt that says “Obama,” three times. What we read is, “The President for Us: The triumph of the Obama idea, and the

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-83889215499424012562008-11-20T12:14:00.000-06:002008-11-20T14:27:42.509-06:00

Conservatives have long decried the liberal bias of most media members, a bias which they refuse to admit or acknowledge. We've come up with several terms to describe that group of journalists and organizations, mostly notably the "mainstream media" or MSM. Of course, the charge against that is that they aren't actually mainstream; they're liberal. Rush Limbaugh calls them the "drive-by media"

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-64551554802182165452008-11-20T08:00:00.000-06:002008-11-20T14:27:26.874-06:00

I saw on the Yahoo headlines that oil is around $50 a barrel now. Nobody's really been pondering why, it seems--they just seem grateful that the price of gas is finally going down. Couple of things, though: first, the price peaked on July 11, 2008. Since then, it's come down precipitiously. Certainly the weakening demand and worries about the economy have contributed to the downward movement once

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-87636848899205599482008-11-14T12:30:00.001-06:002008-11-20T14:34:28.376-06:00

Well, I feel like waking this blog back up again. Let’s see how it goes.Why now? Because my side just got thumped in the last election, and there’s a lot of soul-searching and postmortem analysis going on right now. Some are proposing new plans, saying we didn’t do a good enough job of providing solutions to problems. Others are urging us to focus on policies that will reset our governing

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-1167425312302631422006-12-29T14:25:00.000-06:002006-12-29T14:48:32.320-06:00

2006 is coming to a close, and I've a few thoughts to finish out the year.Full lives make for light blogging. While other folks may have it otherwise, when my life is full and interesting, my fondness for blogging fades. This past year has been the most significant of my career, as I've undergone more role changes and growth "opportunities" than ever before. Consequently, descending into the

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-1162920516588209812006-11-07T11:21:00.000-06:002006-11-07T11:28:36.623-06:00

I'm getting my November post out of the way early by stating some predictions for the elections (which are occuring right now.) I think the Republicans hold both the House and Seante and that they do shockingly well in the Senate. I predict that Amendment 2 will be defeated here in MO, as will Claire McCaskill.Why do I think the Republicans will do better than expected? Because a pair of twos

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-1162308047617793462006-10-31T09:19:00.000-06:002006-10-31T09:20:47.636-06:00

Almost missed the October post, but I was reminded just in time. Here's a letter I submitted to my local paper on Amendment 2, a proposal in Missouri to write stem cell research into our constitution.Preserve Your VoiceI have a multitude of reasons to vote against Amendment 2. Here are two.First, it’s unnecessary. The practices it seeks “to ensure for all Missourians” are not illegal. There hasn’

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-1157743702866581842006-09-08T14:24:00.000-05:002006-09-08T14:36:48.676-05:00

Another little thing I submitted to my local paper--about September 11, this time. My last one didn't make the paper, alas, but we'll see about this one. Regardless, I now have my September post.Shall We Sleep Or Wake?A clear Tuesday morning five years aroused a sleeping giant. Are we still roused, or are we trying desperately to return to slumber and its pleasant dreams?First, consider that we

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-1154986207529758062006-08-07T16:06:00.000-05:002006-08-07T16:30:07.610-05:00

For my August post, here's something I sent to my local paper on embryonic stem cell research. They haven't printed it yet and may never, but I thought it was pretty good.The Age of TantalusThe Greeks told a story about a man named Tantalus who ate of the very food of the gods. In return, he butchered his son Pelops and served him as a feast for the Olympians, presumably hoping to curry favor. I

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-1151954747997779722006-07-03T14:15:00.000-05:002006-07-03T14:36:15.536-05:00

I wrote another little piece for my local paper again. They were lionizing the people who voted against the flag-burning amendment and the New York Times for publishing the SWIFT info. It irritated me, so I wrote this bit which made it into the paper yesterday.Restricting flag-burning does not equal censorshipI understand the [local paper] has a vested interest in veneration of the First

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-1151601027222580702006-06-29T12:00:00.000-05:002006-06-29T12:10:27.293-05:00

June's almost over, so it's time for another post. This month has been the month of Cars for us. My wife and I have seen the movie twice, bought the soundtrack, and purchased a lot of Happy Meals for our two-year-old. We've probably spent about $200 on related paraphenalia. The irony of buying mass-produced merchandise based on a movie that emphasizes the uniqueness of small towns isn't lost on

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-1147377386351400612006-05-11T14:46:00.000-05:002006-05-11T14:56:26.366-05:00

I've heard a lot of buzz that this election year will be like 1994 but in the reverse direction. But I'm not going to pay a single bit of attention to people who make those claims until they start doing the kind of thinking that Jay Cost does. It seems that the more punditry we get (and I think it's fair to say that we're seeing a far more vigorous, diverse pundit class than ever before), the

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-1146777634424380232006-05-04T16:14:00.000-05:002006-05-04T16:20:34.440-05:00

What do you know--I'm getting my May post done early. This was in response to a piece by Dahlia Litwick on the fate of Zacarias Moussaoui. It bugged me in three fundamental ways that I detailed in an email to a debating partner of mine.While this guy's actual punishment doesn't bother me that much (although I prefer Ron White's scenario for Osama bin Laden--listen to "Comedy Ain't Pretty"

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-1146083674470512692006-04-26T15:12:00.000-05:002006-04-26T15:34:55.803-05:00

I am really excited to see that Tony Snow is the new White House spokesman. The president finally has somebody on his team who can communicate the kind of credit that Bush deserves. A little rant mode here: I've long thought that Republicans are pretty good at getting things done in government but terrible at taking credit. I thought that Republicans should have been crowing about actually

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-1143841438857657992006-03-31T15:15:00.000-06:002006-03-31T15:43:58.906-06:00

A fellow asked me a couple of days ago what I thought of this president and his policies. Here's what I think.My position is that this president, with great moral courage and foresight, has embarked on a world-transformational mission (of great risk) to leach the poison out of the Middle East and the Islamofascist worldview that sustains international terrorism. I support him in this; I think

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-1141150016848617032006-02-28T11:49:00.000-06:002006-02-28T12:06:56.900-06:00

I'd made it a goal in my intermittent posting schedule to post at least once per month, but I almost missed February! Sigh. It would be better to blog more, I think; the thoughts have been swirling once again, demanding an outlet, and reviving Slarrow is becoming more appealing to me again.First, an addition to the blogroll: Our White Noise, a new blog started by a very old, very dear friend of

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-1138224879795527042006-01-25T15:20:00.000-06:002006-01-25T15:34:39.836-06:00

From NRO, I found the latest from Greg Gutfeld. It's a number of Roe v. Wade jokes.It's fiendishly clever, and I say that deliberately. Some of the jokes are actually funny ("not all of them are this stupid"; "I have to walk out of here alone!"; "yes...yes you do."). They made me laugh--and then instantly be repulsed at my laughter. Some are just cruel and sick (the dumpster, black storks,

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-1134765202032874052005-12-16T14:31:00.000-06:002005-12-16T14:33:22.036-06:00

I wrote another piece and submitted it to my local paper. Don't know if they'll print it--the topic has been fairly well covered these past few weeks. Still, I kind of like it. I'd title it:Restore "Holy" To HolidaysI’m glad to see that “Christmas” is making a comeback. The pendulum had swung too far the other way, due to the defensive reaction to the complaints of the overly sensitive. Some of

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-1133280584543809992005-11-29T10:08:00.000-06:002005-11-29T10:09:44.553-06:00

I'm dropping Roger L. Simon and adding Dennis the Peasant. Why? Because I find him more credible.

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-1129820109712821152005-10-20T09:52:00.000-05:002005-10-20T09:55:09.713-05:00

I wrote another piece for my local paper, this time defending partisanship. I hoped that I'd have a more stirring call to action (Go Cards!), but by the time it was published, the Astros had already won the series. Congrats to them, and wait 'til next year (the perennial sports fan motto)!In Defense of PartisanshipI am a partisan. I have a team, and I support it through thick and thin. I never

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-1127403039732294572005-09-22T10:21:00.000-05:002005-09-22T10:30:39.746-05:00

Ah, found that retrospective piece I wrote almost two years ago. Pretty soon I'm going to have to come up with original observations about parenthood again! Alas.Happy ThanksgivingIt should come as no great suprise to learn that I am most thankful for my wife and my son. The last six weeks have been so amazing with my wife. It reminds me a lot of when we were first married, and I watched this

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-1127339578475289922005-09-21T16:46:00.000-05:002005-09-21T16:52:58.480-05:00

I wrote this for the September 11 edition of my local paper. (Nice to be able to create posts out of stuff I've already written.)A noble America rose from the ashesSept. 11 is once again upon us. What can we say of ourselves four years later?We have proven to be a fickle yet noble people. Our steadfastness of purpose sways with every headline and every additional nickel in the gas price. We

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-1127333797753157762005-09-21T15:13:00.000-05:002005-09-21T15:16:37.753-05:00

Well, I got tired of having this great big blank spot where my paragraphs ought to be, so here's my new look. I know I need to expand the width of the content bar, and I'd like to float the nav bar to the right so that content expands out below it once the end of the nav bar is reached. But first I have to study the CSS to make sure I can make it behave like I want it to.Coming relatively soon:

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-1123539101592596432005-08-08T17:10:00.000-05:002005-08-08T17:11:41.596-05:00

Alas, Blogger still put everything below the navigation/archive DIV. Bah, humbug.In better news, I found another piece out of the archives I wrote about six weeks after the birth of my son (around Thanksgiving.) That'll be my next posted piece. But not now. Hopefully I can get the formatting thing figured out first. @#@!$^$ template.

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-1123538385715840422005-08-08T16:54:00.000-05:002005-08-08T16:59:45.720-05:00

I'm closing up this little retrospective series on the birth of my son (nearly two years old now) with this final posting. Afterwards, I think I'll reflect on what two years of daddyhood has taught me and how close it's been to my expectations. (I also hope this post will fix whatever bug Blogger put in my last post to shove everything below the right sidebar. Grrrr...) I Keep Falling In Love

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-1122672758740565202005-07-29T16:20:00.000-05:002005-07-29T16:32:38.750-05:00

Well, it's been some time since I last posted. In the interim, I've started a new job and rearranged my schedule a little bit. I've also cut down on most of my blog reading (which was good since I'm busier in the summer anyway.) I've written little due to settling into a new job and trying to get things organized at home before school starts (my wife teaches.) But I think I'll slowly work my way

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-1117826938078178722005-06-03T14:16:00.000-05:002005-06-03T14:28:58.086-05:00

Yet another bit from the archives, before my son (who is nearing twenty months old) was born. I keep expecting to read something that makes me cringe, but so far it seems to have played out like I thought it would. My folks prepared me well.Sixteen Tons, Sixteen CandlesI am the epitome of manhood.*waiting for snickers to die down*At least, I will be, for one person, for a little while. For this

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-1117749086273618632005-06-02T16:23:00.000-05:002005-06-02T16:51:26.283-05:00

Via a heads-up from Stanley Kurtz on NRO is this long, thought-provoking piece by Lee Harris. In particular, this passage caught my attention:A society that wishes to reproduce itself must take care to pass on to the next generation the knowledge required to maintain itself at more or less the same level of civilization. It is not enough to pass on the good china; you must also pass on the family

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-1116909116658451452005-05-23T23:27:00.000-05:002005-05-23T23:47:26.770-05:00

I was going through some of my folders looking for resume stuff, and I found something I was afraid I had lost. Last summer my local paper asked for responses on the question, "what is patriotism?" This is what I wrote:A patriot commits himself through love at cost to the ideas and people that are his country. Patriotism is an act of will rather than a mere attitude. As such, it begins with

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-1116878526961619782005-05-23T14:59:00.000-05:002005-05-23T15:02:06.966-05:00

I recently turned 30, and I love The Incredibles. So once again I'm on board with what James Lileks says (emphasis mine): Then, “The Incredibles.” Which was. Died, went to heaven, etc. Tron me up, let me live in that world; you’ll hear no complaints. More about that tomorrow; I bring it up just to compare it with the other bits of juvenile pop culture I sampled this weekend. “Team America” was

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-1116814736191626852005-05-22T20:49:00.000-05:002005-05-22T21:18:56.663-05:00

It's kind of odd, really. I haven't paid much attention to the Internet for about ten days now; I got laid off from my job and spent the time focusing on my next job search and home improvement projects. I'd really been spending way too much time on the 'Net anyway, but it wasn't any trouble at all to go several days without even turning on a computer. I finally went online a little this weekend,

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-1115413464658230632005-05-06T16:29:00.000-05:002005-05-06T16:04:55.913-05:00

Not only do I plan to be a repressive, uncool parent who never lets my kid do everything he wants...I now have a license from Orson Scott Card to do so.I am, here and now, offering you absolution from all your guilt over being an attentive, responsible, careful, loving, and strict parent.First: It is actually a terrific thing if your child's desires are repressed. In fact, one of the main skills

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-1115061146001239272005-05-02T13:52:00.000-05:002005-05-02T14:12:26.006-05:00

Marty at You Know I'm Right (a prince of a guy--really) came up with a great term that describes how I look at myself as a blogger these days. He describes himself as an Occasional Blogger. What a great formulation that is. It puts blogging in the proper context for one's life: something to be enjoyed from time to time, an interesting exercise and opportunity for expression and conversation. How

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-1114803829893135252005-04-29T14:41:00.000-05:002005-05-02T14:18:14.253-05:00

I've been slow to post lately (my time is taken with other things, including other writings.) But I wrote these pieces over the course of a few months nearly two years ago before my first son was born. I'll dole these out over the next several days. This is the first.Time Keeps On Slippin', Slippin'My wife and I are going to have a baby. Well, she's going to have the baby; I'm there to rub her

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-1113495635396601072005-04-14T10:14:00.000-05:002005-04-14T11:28:44.273-05:00

Wow, I didn't expect to be gone this long. I've been busy writing blog-type stuff, but it's been in private emails and a private message board with a first-class intellect who doesn't pull any punches at all but who also acknowledges when I've made a decent case. I've found myself refraining from commenting on lots of threads because I've grown spoiled in that regard; I know I'm not going to get

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-1110575515376103762005-03-11T15:01:00.000-06:002005-03-11T15:11:55.380-06:00

Varifrank diagnoses Michael Jackson as having Howard's Curse. It's an excellent essay on something I've long thought about Jackson: there are immense dangers in living in a world that is unchecked by reality. Michael Jackson is a pitiful and pitiable character because he had enough money to shut out the demons of the outside world. As Varifrank points out so well, though, he's found there are

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-1110464753833321312005-03-10T08:16:00.000-06:002005-03-10T08:25:53.836-06:00

It's nice to wake up to something like this from Iowahawk. What a fitting sendoff.

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-1109976026553870992005-03-04T16:59:00.000-06:002005-03-04T22:37:45.236-06:00

The excellent Wretchard at The Belmont Club points out a debate between Victor Davis Hanson and Ronald Edsforth on the nature of justifiable war and whether Iraq was such.The debate ranged over a number of issues, but it touched on something I've found to be a profound difference--perhaps the profound difference--between the Left and the Right. That difference is the nature of human nature: is

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-1109712406911120312005-03-01T14:59:00.000-06:002005-03-01T15:26:46.913-06:00

A bit of a break from the political stuff: today is St. David's Day!No, I didn't know what it was either. But upon learning it is to Wales what St. Patrick's is to Ireland, I am happy to celebrate it today and from now on (although first I'd have to find some leeks.) The rest of the article describes how Wales is trying to make a push toward greater prominence and investment. All right!Wales has

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-1109625042011396462005-02-28T15:00:00.000-06:002005-02-28T15:10:42.013-06:00

I see that Howard Dean is preaching the New Gospel again. The quote that's gotten a lot of pixels thus far is his little "we're good, they're evil" ditty. But here's what made me perk up (emphasis mine):"Moderate Republicans can't stand these people (conservatives), because they're intolerant. They don't think tolerance is a virtue," Dean said, adding: "I'm not going to have these right-wingers

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-1109351847294623772005-02-25T10:57:00.000-06:002005-02-25T11:17:27.296-06:00

Victor Davis Hanson has done it again.His latest piece examines the recurrent myths from those who tend to deny American exceptionalism. Always, it seems, there's a contingent who insist the sky is falling only to come crawling around afterwards to say they knew all along everything was fine. Until, of course, the next time something "terrible" happens and they revert back to their instincts....

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-1109282252901786432005-02-24T16:00:00.000-06:002005-02-24T15:57:32.906-06:00

This took longer to get to than I'd hoped, but such is life.President Bush has made it his mantra to talk about the power of freedom and democracy around the world. Indeed, it has a great number of positive effects that are better described elsewhere. But one of its most potent benefits is one that we usually identify as a great flaw: the power to complain.I formulated this thought and waited for

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-1109110575414799912005-02-22T15:05:00.000-06:002005-02-22T16:16:15.420-06:00

Newsweek has an article about the perils of perfectionist motherhood called Mommy Madness. As is my wont these days, I read first the commentary (from Lileks) and the satire (from iowahawk) on the article before I read the article. Perhaps that has prejudiced me somewhat against the article's author. If so, then so be it. I'm still not sympathetic.I read Lileks' point as this: choices have

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-1109103090683505312005-02-22T14:04:00.000-06:002005-02-22T14:11:30.686-06:00

Posting has been slow but shall pick up now that I've cleared some of the dross out of the way. I've been collecting things to talk about in the interim, though. Here's one: a Q & A with Captain David Rozelle at NRO. This is a man.NRO: You've done your service, man, why would you ever want to go back? Captain Rozelle: It is my duty. By accepting command, I knew that I would eventually return to

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-1107380803553922112005-02-02T15:14:00.000-06:002005-02-02T15:55:07.956-06:00

Not much blogging lately, although I have kept busy on a couple of other sites and a private bulletin board. In the meantime, though, I've run across the following things I found interesting:Once you dig down to the bottom of the James Dobson/Spongebob thing, it's really not that big a deal. Dobson is quite right to note that others are trying to get certain beliefs into kids' heads through

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-1106578747506898952005-01-24T08:46:00.000-06:002005-01-24T08:59:07.506-06:00

Lilek's piece today is another classic. It begins with an observation on Johnny Carson (who, to my mind, when funniest when a joke bombed; he was better with a failed joke than many comedians are with a successful one.) It continues with a riff on an advertisement for a new Oedipus production that oh-so-cleverly mocks the current administration. James writes:I don’t think it occurred to the

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-1106341492055043302005-01-21T14:44:00.000-06:002005-01-21T16:01:49.510-06:00

"Redford Kicks Off Sundance on a Political Note", the headline says. Big surprise there. He was calling independent films "a voice of dissent" and was encouraging "film-makers to speak their minds." Okay, nothing big so far. But then he said this:"This is really a festival about different voices in film that really reflect, a little more accurately, the world we live in," Redford said.Oh, I

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-1106322465536062992005-01-21T09:50:00.000-06:002005-01-21T09:49:22.773-06:00

I was mightily impressed by the President's inaugural address yesterday. It reminded me of the best formulation I ever heard between power and morality: not might makes right, but might for right. Peggy Noonan disagrees; she thought the speech was too ambitious, too "over the top." I respectfully disagree with her in this instance; I think there is just a bit too much of the calculated domestic

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-1106068670157496662005-01-18T11:16:00.000-06:002005-01-18T11:17:50.156-06:00

I won't spoil the surprise on this one. Just go read Varifrank now.

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-1105998940179855162005-01-17T16:03:00.000-06:002005-01-17T16:02:44.616-06:00

Well, well. It's another episode of a blue-stater trekking into deepest, darkest Red America. Actually, I feel relatively generous towards this piece--more Lileksy than Blairlike. The writer has enough familiarity with so-called Red America (given his background) that he can at least pick out good, solid, representative quotes from people. I get the sense that the team made a genuine effort to

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-1105722814813582722005-01-14T11:26:00.000-06:002005-01-14T11:26:33.720-06:00

Victor Davis Hanson once again lays out the contradictory criticisms and unreasonable expectations of opponents of Bush's policy in the Middle East. An excerpt:Indeed, from the oscillating analyses of Iraq, the following impossible picture often emerges from our intelligentsia. It was a fatal error to disband the Iraqi army. That led to lawlessness and a loss of confidence in the American ability

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-1105722302480298522005-01-14T10:37:00.000-06:002005-01-14T11:05:02.480-06:00

Brian Anderson writes in OpinionJournal about the rise of conservatism on college campuses which is coming, by and large, from the students. It's an excellent analysis of what's going on and why it's happening, and I'd like to highlight one point and add another. About this new generation, Anderson writes:"American college kids grew up in an era that witnessed both communism's fall and the

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-1105651131992635262005-01-13T15:18:00.000-06:002005-01-13T15:19:02.450-06:00

Thinking a little more on this Rathergate reaction, I like Stanley Kurtz's take on it in The Corner: "Deep down, this Dan Rather business is about honor...The analogy to the Rather affair at this point is the case of the Dixie Chicks...The Dixie Chicks think people punished them for their politics. But what really upset folks wasn’t that the Chicks were against Bush or the war, it was that the

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-1105632373805492132005-01-13T09:26:00.000-06:002005-01-13T10:06:13.806-06:00

Hugh Hewitt today notices a particularly astute metaphor concerning how bloggers have reacted to the Rathergate report. The author divides the reactions into Bolshevik and Menshevik camps; Bolsheviks want revolution now while Mensheviks are happy to be patient and let the story play out. Count me as a Menshevik (and Soxblog too, unless Hewitt's got some e-mail confirmation.) Hewitt himself is

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-1105394694358779352005-01-10T14:19:00.000-06:002005-01-10T16:04:54.360-06:00

This morning the members of my church laid a gentleman to rest. He was probably one of the best-loved people there. They printed his obituary in the bulletin yesterday. I learned a number of significant things about his life. He died at age 88. He came to our area in 1978; he was retiring, at the age of 63, to the Branson area of southwest Missouri. He was a charter member of the church here. He

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-1105378096052029342005-01-10T11:18:00.000-06:002005-01-10T11:28:16.053-06:00

USA Today has a story about why the Democrats have such a tough time talking about character.It begins with the sentence, "Imagine a Democratic presidential candidate and his allies assailing the character of the Republican nominee in ads and speeches every day for eight months." My response to this was "what's this 'imagine' word?" Call it fourteen months, and that's exactly what we got. But

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-1105115011720976502005-01-07T10:17:00.000-06:002005-01-07T10:23:31.720-06:00

My local paper says we should confirm Gonzales but watch him. But they base their distrust on an extraordinarily shallow understanding of events and Gonzales' actual role in the so-called "torture memos." One particular line set me off; the board said that Bush's policies of treating terrorists like terrorists "contributed to the abuses at Abu Ghraib and other other military prisons." That's just

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-1105111696851383902005-01-07T09:23:00.000-06:002005-01-07T09:28:16.853-06:00

Victor Davis Hanson has a typically astute piece about how Americans are still saving the world and are being rewarded with yet more moaning and groaning. He compares our current role to the Western lawman of Hollywood legend that comes in and cleans up a town in which the residents are too foolish or yellow to do it themselves, only to hear the vicious backbiting whining from those same

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-1105111370877161062005-01-07T09:02:00.000-06:002005-01-07T09:22:50.876-06:00

Michael Novak has an interesting piece in National Review about a particular reaction to the tsunami. The problem is how a good God can allow (or cause) such death and destruction. Often this is really a polemical question, asked by non-theists in order to embarrass theists. Novak's take, however, turns the question on those atheists or agnostics who ask it to show that either the presence of

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-1104791524517700152005-01-03T14:10:00.000-06:002005-01-03T16:32:04.516-06:00

Hey, it's a blog post. Lately I've been more of a consumer than a producer of blog posting. Oh well, no harm done. Before I get back into the longer pieces, I'll do a quick little analysis on one of the favorite terms that gets slung around political arguments: tolerance. For some, it seems to be the Be-All and End-All of discussion, but the concept suffers from two flaws that get overlooked in

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-1103822174467111752004-12-23T11:00:00.000-06:002004-12-23T11:16:14.466-06:00

Tonight my wife, the Bear, and I will go to my parents' for an early Christmas Eve/Morning. Then we'll return home for another Christmas Eve/Morning with my wife's mother. Ah, delight. I've got a number of things planned to write about in the coming weeks. I've got a couple of takeoffs from LOTR: ROTK in mind (the lighting of the beacons and the Charge of the Rohirrim). I'm planning to write

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-1103146952314746872004-12-15T14:55:00.000-06:002004-12-15T15:42:32.316-06:00

Ah, I now have the four-disc Return of the King. Since the Bear (14 months old today!) doesn't get to sleep until around 9, my wife and I are just taking this about an hour at a time. Last night we managed to make it to the lighting of the beacons (about which I'll post soon) before we finally collapsed. I love the Lord of the Rings, both the book(s) and the movie(s). I respect Tolkien's demand

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-1103138170007674842004-12-15T13:16:00.000-06:002004-12-15T13:27:49.690-06:00

Haloscan commenting and trackback have been added to this blog. Well, there's my nice little automated message. Now I just need to figure out how the trackback stuff works, and I'll be in business. Sadly, this means I jettison the very useful comments by David Velleman at Left2Right and the nice compliment 2Slick paid me on the abortion post (as well as a few back-and-forths with David from ISOU

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-1103126937570167012004-12-15T09:37:00.000-06:002004-12-15T13:20:03.606-06:00

I'll take my first crack at a Homespun Symposium question. Marc at Hubs and Spokes offered this little jewel:What do you believe is necessarry for true racial reconciliation to take place in American society? Does your solution involve coercive governmental remedies? Do you believe that Churches have an important role to play in this process?Frankly, I think what's necessary is for those who seek

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-1103044430521287832004-12-14T10:52:00.000-06:002004-12-14T11:13:50.523-06:00

Well, I've joined Homespun Bloggers. Should be fun. In case I get folks coming over to the house, a little about me: I live in the Missouri Ozarks near Branson. I'm a computer programmer/web guy with degrees in computer science and philosophy. I have a wife and baby son (the Bear.) I'll be 30 in February. I'm a fiscal and social conservative and a Republican (not necessarily the same thing.) I

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-1102971035632635602004-12-13T14:30:00.000-06:002004-12-13T14:50:35.633-06:00

It seems that Left2Right is going to be a disappointment to conservatives. The initial statements seemed to suggest that the site was going to be an attempt by some academicians on the Left to engage the Right in an attempt to persuade them. Unfortunately, it seems the purpose is for those on the Left to discuss amongst themselves the most effective way to reframe their message and recalibrate

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-1102569817648985972004-12-08T22:49:00.000-06:002004-12-13T14:20:09.790-06:00

The local chapter of Planned Parenthood has been up to their old tricks again. Earlier I posted an item on the teenage couple who caused a miscarriage through the boyfriend beating the girlfriend's stomach with a mini baseball bat. A columnist from my local paper mentioned it here, and the public affairs director for the local Planned Parenthood wrote an editorial chastising him for linking this

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-1102546746653199052004-12-08T16:49:00.000-06:002004-12-08T16:59:06.653-06:00

I've spent most of the day on the new site Left2Right, particularly on this thread nominally about homosexuality. It's been interesting; there's been some pretty good discussion there. (It's also fun to see some of the references that I haven't encountered since my philosophy courses in college.) I hope the site succeeds, although not necessarily on its own terms. By its lights, Left2Right is

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-1102515734483915102004-12-08T08:18:00.000-06:002004-12-08T08:22:14.483-06:00

I always get a little amused and frustrated when people talk about how low our politics have sunk and how dirty and terrible the campaigns are when they run political commercials that say the opponent isn't all that great. These people have no historical perspective. We actually live in an extraordinarily civil political society, and what we call "extreme" is really pretty milquetoast. Now this

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-1102456357481216122004-12-07T15:50:00.000-06:002004-12-07T15:52:37.480-06:00

This actually made me want to pick up my Dante again. Found on David's ISOU on which I've spent an inordinate amount of time today. (Happily, we've made our peace--for this round, anyway. Who knows what the future holds, but hopefully it's respectful and vigorous debate.) The Dante's Inferno Test has sent you to Purgatory!Here is how you matched up against all the levels:LevelScorePurgatory (

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-1102440679681202332004-12-07T11:20:00.000-06:002004-12-07T11:31:19.680-06:00

I suppose late nights are for me to rise to the bait and indulge in rhetorical hand-to-hand combat with guys like David. But I settle down in the clear light of day and only hope that what I wrote the night before makes some kind of sense. And then sometimes I discover sites like The Anchoress who is watching her brother die with extraordinary compassion and grace, and I am humbled and a little

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-1102397233299603782004-12-06T22:14:00.000-06:002004-12-07T13:36:24.510-06:00

David Scott Anderson finally made me angry. I've read his blog for some time after he extended a kind invitation to Bush supporters to state why they were voting for their guy. Since I've begun reading him, I've always thought he was an emotional guy who occasionally overreached but who has a fundamental sense of fairness nevertheless. We had a bit of a dustup in private email, though, and I

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-1102369500511967352004-12-06T14:01:00.000-06:002004-12-06T15:45:00.510-06:00

Rush alerted me to this story (more on it here). Apparently the Democrats are having a Berkeley professor named George Lakoff come speak to them about the importance of "framing" their issues the right way to make more palatable to the populace. Lakoff claims the Republicans have essentially won through a thirty-year program of clever marketing, good storytelling, and message discipline. (Michael

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-1101938058115423032004-12-01T15:24:00.000-06:002004-12-01T15:54:18.116-06:00

Now that I've refrained from posting for a while, thoughts are scrambling to get out of my head. Back to it, then. It's Christmastime again, so I'm listening to my delightful Christmas music I can get from the generic kiosks at Wal-Mart. I'm listening to a "Frosty the Snowman" tape from LaserLight that features the most beautiful rendition of "What Child Is This?" I've ever heard. It's by a girl

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-1100293603095200422004-11-12T15:02:00.000-06:002004-11-12T15:06:43.096-06:00

If Democratic leaders start listening to Dan Gerstein, the Republicans will find it a lot harder to win elections. Then again, if Democrats start listening to Dan Gerstein, the Democratic Party will become worth losing to again.

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-1100204254926212702004-11-11T14:14:00.000-06:002004-11-11T14:17:34.926-06:00

My wife's a teacher, and she got her kids involved with something called Letters To The Front. It's a contest where people write 100-200 word letters to service members; after the judging, all the letters will be delivered to U.S. military personnel. I wrote one, but I'm gonna miss the deadline. So I'll post it here.Dear Service Member, I just want to say thanks for keeping my little boy safe.

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-1100098236249739102004-11-10T08:09:00.000-06:002004-11-10T08:50:36.250-06:00

John Ashcroft is resigning as Attorney General. This man will go down in history as one of the top Attorneys General we've ever had. The challenges he's faced in his tenure have been tremendous and unprecedented. He changed the mission of the Justice Department on the fly from prosecuting crimes already committed to preventing terrorist acts by nabbing the culprits before they could strike. He's

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-1100040073764318572004-11-09T16:21:00.000-06:002004-11-09T16:41:13.766-06:00

There's been a lot of significance (and a lot of vitriol) aimed at the red-blue divide in the country. But the country is divvied up as red and blue states. It's even promoted some stupid talk about secession, for heaven's sake. Part of this, I think, is made possible by the notion that all those weirdos live far, far away (no matter what side you're on.) But look at the red/blue county map from

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-1099950384837453562004-11-08T15:44:00.000-06:002004-11-08T15:46:24.836-06:00

A dear friend of mine on the other side of the aisle wrote this as a letter submission to the Washington Post. While I think he falls prey to some of the concerns I've posted, it's still a civil call to work together. I liked it, and he's letting me post it. Enjoy.Dear President Bush, Congratulations on your victory. I supported Sen. Kerry, but the race is over. It is no time to get on with the

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-1099689991424469262004-11-05T15:03:00.000-06:002004-11-05T15:26:31.426-06:00

I thought I'd throw a little something out there to head into the weekend. Below I've linked to pieces I wrote during this campaign season. Some I got right, some I got wrong, but all of it was fun to write. Edwards was a bad choice. Kerry's "nuance" is a liability. The failure of the Democratic convention--part of Bush's plan? The Coming Bush Landslide The Trash Generation What if we hadn't

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-1099686119322777662004-11-05T14:03:00.000-06:002004-11-05T14:21:59.323-06:00

Boldly. I've already noticed some liberals and Democrats comforting themselves with the notion that Bush won't be very conservative in his second term. Whether it's denying he has a mandate or thinking he has to "heal" a "divided" country or fancying he's concerned about his legacy, they seem to have talked themselves into thinking that he's not going to do what he said he would. (They made much

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-1099592568248509972004-11-04T11:55:00.000-06:002004-11-04T12:22:48.250-06:00

Clearly, it's George W. Bush. The implications of Tuesday's elections are starting to sink in. Nationally, the Republicans proved to have stunning strength, although Democrats seem to have done pretty well at the state level in various regions. Clearly, the President had coattails, and they will help him govern and implement his agenda this year. This leads me to conclude that George W. Bush is

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-1099521459766305022004-11-03T16:14:00.000-06:002004-11-03T16:37:39.766-06:00

Well, that's a relief. George W. Bush will be our president for four more years. What does this victory mean? First of all, I think it deals the terrorists a harsh blow. Up until yesterday terrorists thought they could see a light at the end of the tunnel. That light is now the oncoming train of the impacable foe of terrorism, George W. Bush. I think this hurts recruitment more than folks may

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-1099432768580863462004-11-02T15:48:00.000-06:002004-11-02T15:59:28.580-06:00

My, what an interesting afternoon it's been. Skewed and phony exit polls, reports of tire slashings for campaign vans, reports of Republicans' registration mysteriously vanishing from the voter rolls in Democrat-controlled precincts--and it's not yet quittin' time on the East Coast! (All the above can be found, I think, at the excellent National Review subsites: The Corner, The Kerry Spot, and

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-1099347458281571822004-11-01T14:58:00.000-06:002004-11-01T16:17:38.280-06:00

Well, it's finally here. The campaigns are about finished, and the election is tomorrow. I happen to think Bush will win with an electoral vote in the 290 range and a popular vote win of 3-5%. But I don't know. It's just too hard to measure out there these days, especially since it seems some of the underlying assumptions pollsters have seen to be getting clobbered. This is the first

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-1099203756366281932004-10-31T01:56:00.000-06:002004-10-31T01:22:36.366-05:00

This is dedicated to Greyhawk at Mudville Gazette (since he posted something nice about my poetry and got me to writing it again) and to all our troops out there hunting down our enemies. They are the "strong stirring wind" and the "fiery whirlwind". The Ghoul The year moves near to night of dread. The Ghoul comes back to feast on dead. The voice first cackles, and then it moans. Skin too

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-1099086587227871592004-10-29T16:40:00.000-05:002004-10-29T16:49:47.226-05:00

I see that al-Jezeera's released a new bin Laden tape. So the old murderer's still alive (maybe; this ain't live TV). Well, that's just begging to be corrected. Apparently in the video he's telling Americans what to do; he says, "We fought you because we are free .... and want to regain freedom for our nation. As you undermine our security we undermine yours," In other words, get out of town,

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6952851.post-1099077688939289072004-10-29T13:59:00.000-05:002004-10-29T14:21:28.940-05:00

First of all, if you are coming here from Greyhawk at Mudville, God bless 'im and you. You are more than welcome! Now to our regularly scheduled program.... It seems to me that the power of polls and newspaper endorsements these days is not so much to convince people to vote one way or another but to affect the enthusiasm and outlook of those voters who have already made up their minds. It may

slarrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.com