Duncan Hunter should apologize IMMEDIATELY

Duncan Hunter just made the egregious and patently false claim that "only conservatives and members of conservative families" enlist and fight for the United States of America.

What a slap in the face to all members of the American Armed Services. Duncan Hunter should apologize IMMEDIATELY, and he should be ashamed at his lack of factual knowledge and overall incompetence.

Less than 12 hours until...THE GAME

GO BUCKEYES.

Hail THE Big Ten.

Words from a Veteran in honor of Veteran's Day

From here and here...

Veterans Day arrives every year like a hand grenade that has been rolling around the floorboard of my life for months. My earliest memories of the day go back to my father’s military service, back when he wore the uniform of a US Navy hospital corpsman.

My father, I suspect, was a victim of post-traumatic stress syndrome. If not that, he was a least clinically depressed. Not because he was shot in the leg during the Korean War, but because of the hundreds of Marines he watched die on the battlefield. As a corpsman, he spent more time than anyone should spend in blood up to his elbows, working against hope in one of our many wars without end.

Today we are engaged in another war without end. Indeed, many of Bush's key enablers see Iraq unfolding into another Korea with as many as 50,000 US troops permanently stationed there. Why else are we now building in Iraq the largest and most fortified US embassy in the world?

Truth be told, I am barely able to sustain my anger about the horrors of this war. For in some ways, it is not nearly so heinous as Bush’s other assaults on democracy and sanity. The war itself is merely a symptom of our moral decline and collective stupidity, our swift descent into a corrupt police state that secretly tortures and imprisons other human beings. The daily revelations of graft and greed inside the military-industrial-Congressional complex have almost destroyed my hope for the future.

My father saw all this coming. A lifelong Republican and Christian, even he could sense the shifting sands of political extremism. He abandoned his own church after decades of service because the congregation began drinking fundamentalist Kool-Aid. He eschewed politics in the wake of Ronald Reagan’s declaration of a long war on the middle class. And when my mother finally died of a heart attack, he withdrew, alone and abandoned by everything he held dear.

One morning not long after I introduced him to his newest granddaughter, my father shot himself in the head. There was no note of explanation. As you might expect, everyone came up with their own interpretations about why he killed himself. He missed my mom. He was having a bad day. He was tired. Some even thought it might have been an accident. Whatever.

I believe that he was sad. That he felt useless and impotent. That he could not imagine a world that would be safe and secure for his grandchildren. I believe George W. Bush has created exactly the world my father wanted to leave.

THIS will also break your heart.

UPDATE: HA! Phish phans show up to College Gameday

HILARIOUS UPDATE

It’s been football all day and it’ll be football all night following two straight evenings of live music. Friday night brought me to my first Phil & Friends show of the nine-night run at New York’s Nokia Theatre, an intensely enjoyable concert worth far less than the $70 face value of the ticket price. The venue on Saturday was Ace of Clubs for American Babies, still the best band you’ve never seen. Really, get into this shit.

But the quasi-musical highlight of the weekend came from ESPN’s College GameDay and everyone’s favorite Phish cesspool. I’ve often said the popular rock band Phish is the greatest inside joke in music history, but the inside jokes inside the joke are sometimes even better. And on Saturday we witnessed the first nationally televised Fluffhead sign in about two-and-a-half years. Ah, Internet geekdom — it’s fannnnntastic.



Too hilarious. I feel a reunion coming soon...

I am getting a new pet - it's probably not legal

WHAT? AWESOME.

Just in case anyone noticed how quiet I have gotten

...you may want to take a look at this post over at Bearing Drift. I agree with a lot of what Jim Hoeft and Brian Kirwin have to say, which I know will come as a surprise to many, but it is in fact, true.

After the blog conference, I needed a break from regular blogging/commenting. The break has lasted a lot longer than expected, and surprisingly...I haven't spontaneously combusted. Instead, I have watched a lot of college football, read a few books I have been meaning to get to on the shelf, gotten to appreciate some television that is non-political, and remembered how fun it is to take my dog on really nice, long walks. I have also gotten back into my music obsession and have been generally enjoying my new place I call home.

I don't think I'll ever actually "quit" the Virginia blogosphere, but I don't regret ignoring it for a while.

That's all, I guess. Take care, pholks. See you around the interwebs. :)



And of course, cheers to all.

Republicans of the United States of America, a word of advice...

You guys should probably do something about this Ron Paul guy. Apparently, he raised more money from online donations in one day than any other candidate, EVER. The only people I have spoken to either in person or on blogs and websites whom are actually planning to vote for Ron Paul for President in 2008 are angry Republicans, new, young voters who fancy the word "libertarian", and bored Independents. Oh, and fake hippies. So, frankly, this is bad for the Republican party and great for the Democratic party. When Ron Paul loses the nomination, his former supporters will most definitely either side with the Democratic party (because face it - Ron Paul's biggest selling point is that he is AGAINST the Iraq war) or stay home.

Considering what happened yesterday in the once very red state of Virginia...you may want to think about dealing with this guy.

Congratulations to Virginia Democrats!

Virginia is turning blue, pholks. And it's about time!