Tuesday, August 24, 2004

Survivor Series

Tomorrow I embark on a 4 day trip to Chicago with my dad. While there we will go to both Wrigley Field and Soldier Field for an all-sporting weekend.

An interesting tangent to this trip is that my roommate Greg and my cat will be all alone for three days. Both go at it constantly with each other. Greg tells me the cat is too spoiled and needs to have boundaries, but at the same time he gives the cat regular stomach rubs. The cat on the other hand is infatuated with Greg (and his room) and has taken an interest in Medieval Church History (specifically the origins of the Vitus Gallica).

In any event, I'm convinced that this weekend will be a defining moment in their relationship. Either they will end up killing eachother this weekend, or they will be best buds when I return. Which will it be? We'll find out Saturday!


These are the two combatants. Both look absolutely thrilled at the prospect of having bonding time together :)  Posted by Hello


My money is on the slumbering beast! Posted by Hello

The American Media Sucks

Daily Howler John ONeill lied in Georges face. He knew George was weak and unprepared


A friend of mine directed me to this site the other day, and I think it is a highly valuable resource when trying to sort through the schlock that our media calls news.

I love this site because it provides the analysis and plays the watch dog role that the mainstream media dismally fails to do. As you can see, all of the tough talking talk show hosts who are supposed to provide in depth analysis are more often than not woefully unprepared.

Their comments the other day (located somewhere in the archives) about the post article I linked to were especially interesting. They acknowledge that the post did provide some new information, but also indicate that by sticking it at the end of a 4100 word article, most readers never actually got to that part. More importantly though, this serves the function of lending undue authority and acceptance to the completely irroneous claims made by the SVT.

Our media is awful, and the news it reports is overwhelming crap. Except for the Daily Show (on Comedy Central) I cannot think of a mainstream news show that properly serves in the sacred Watchdog role attributed to the media. This site however does an excellent job of pointing out the flaws of the news we are getting.

Sunday, August 22, 2004

Happy Birthday Deng!

People%27s Daily Online -- Deng%27s legacy still influences China%2C rest of world%3A President Hu

Happy Birthday Deng Xiaoping.

B. August 22, 1904

Swift Boat Accounts Incomplete

Swift Boat Accounts Incomplete %28washingtonpost.com%29

I read this article from the Washington Post, and I think it provides a decent assessment of the differences between the two sides.

Once again, I think it just reinforces my belief that the pro-Bush group is driven more by hatred of Kerry for criticizing them and the war, than by actually trying to tell the truth as they claim.

Swift Boat Accounts Incomplete %28washingtonpost.com%29

Swift Boat Accounts Incomplete %28washingtonpost.com%29

Thoughts on the Swift Boat Controversy

The New York Times %3E Opinion %3E Op-Ed Columnist%3A Kerry%3A Slo-Mo on Swifties

This is kind of uncharted territory for me, but I have provided a link to Sunday's op-ed piece in the NYTimes by Maureen Dowd, which I completely agree with.

This has been an interesting week, with the whole Swift-Boat controversy breaking, and becoming increasingly more absurd.

For those who don't know what I speak of, a 527 group called the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth released two ads that accuse Kerry of being a War-Criminal, betraying his fellow veterans, and just plain lying about the honors he recieved. Although there are probably some questions to be asked of Kerry, the claims made by the group are just ludicirs. As recently as 6 months ago, many of these veterans openly praised Kerry for his service. Upon further investigation of the claims made in the ad, one can see that they are extremely misleading.

The oranization has taken several quotes out of context, claiming that Kerry accused Vietnam soldiers of being war-criminals. In fact, the reference they site was part of a speech Kerry gave recounting what other veterans told him. In other words, Kerry never actually accused his fellow vets. At the same time, several of the veterans who claim they served with Kerry, only did so in the sense of being in Vietnam at the same time he was.

Kerry has finally started to respond to this dirty, underhanded attack (better late than never). He recently filed a complaint with the FEC claiming that the charges were false, and that the orgainization is linked to Bush. Although the Bush's people deny any connection, an investigation by the Times has demonstrated that the Ad has been funded by a group of Texas republicans with close ties to the Bush family. Furthermore, a Bush campaign aide resigned late Saturday when it was published that he appeared in the ad.

I wish the public would be smart enough to see through the slander and false accusations made by Bush. As anyone who follows politics can tell you, this current attack is Bush's typical M.O. He did it to McCain (a POW in Vietnam) in the 2000 primary, to Georgia Senator Max Cleland (who lost 3 limbs in the war), and now to McCain (recipient of the Silver star and Purple Heart). All of these men made immense sacrifices for their country, and all had their patriotism called into question by Bush. How a man who spent the war AWOL from a cushy position with the Texas National Guard can call others' service into question is beyond me. What I find even more absurd is that the American public is actually buying this garbage.

I'm not completely sold on Kerry yet. I think his failure to promptly and decisively respond to Bush's attacks are representative of the intrinsic weaknesses in his candidacy. You cannot expect to just sit idly by and hope that this will all blow over. Kerry does have a habit of not taking strong stands on issues out of fear of offending people (although it is not nearly as bad as the Bush administration says it is, and Bush can certainly be accused of the same). If he is going to successfully counter these attacks, he needs to refocus the election on the domestic issues, which he has an edge over Bush, and immediately counter the false attacks made by Bush.

As I just said, I'm not sold on Kerry yet, but when it comes down to it, I would much rather prefer a waffler in the White House than an out and out liar.

Sunday, August 08, 2004

Monday: New Ulm

After Jeff and Fred unceremoniously blew out of my apartment like bats out of Hell at 6:36 AM, Megan and I followed in close pursuit at 6:48 as we headed to New Ulm, MN. New Ulm was a German utopian community founded in the 1800s by a group of German immigrants. Everything was in German, and the atmosphere of the town was a quaint cross between Europe, 1920's Architecture, and the old west. The high point was definitely Schell's Brewery, the second oldest family owned brewery in the country. All in all, a great day!


Megan is trying to sexually arouse the peacock so he will show us his feathers. Posted by Hello


Another Peacock! Posted by Hello


The wide assortment of beers Posted by Hello


Nice, but not as many kegs as in Bremen. Posted by Hello


A peacock with his tail feathers! Posted by Hello


Guten Tag! Posted by Hello


A fountain in the garden Posted by Hello


A garden at the Brewery. Posted by Hello


Schell's Brewery Posted by Hello


My Gosh there are Peacocks! Posted by Hello


Can you find the Chipmunk? Posted by Hello


One of the scenes Posted by Hello


This is the hill for the Way of the Cross. It was organized by a group of German Nuns at the turn of the Twentieth Century, and features 12 scenes from Jesus's crucifixion. Posted by Hello


my skirt shot of Herman Posted by Hello


Wilkommen! Posted by Hello


Herman's box Posted by Hello


The view from atop the dome Posted by Hello


After lunch we went to visit Herman the German, but unfortunately he was taken off his dome for cleaning. Posted by Hello


Megan descending from the top of the dome Posted by Hello


an art-deco gas station. Actually, its late art deco because it has curves! Posted by Hello


Fred and Jeff opted for more traditional German fare Posted by Hello


Megan and I ate lunch at the Kaiserhoff restaurant. Sadly the Spaetzle were sub-par. :( Posted by Hello


The Glockenspiel Posted by Hello