The occasional pony

You know, Dear Gentle Reader(s), the old story which has the punchline, "with all this horseshit, there must be a pony!" It seems there is a pony over in Townhall.com, occasionally. Diana West, identified only as an author, writes a column every two or three weeks, and on Friday (10/5/07) she published a wonderful piece on the very strange machinations over at the White House relative to the Decider's position on Islam (favorite quote: ("I am astonished by President Bush when he claims there is nothing in the Koran that justifies jihad violence in the name of Islam," Abu Qatada said about six years ago. "Is he some kind of Islamic scholar? Has he ever actually read the Koran?"). As we all know, or not, depending, the Islamic world is celebrating Ramadan. It seems the White House has a dinner celebrating Iftaar (Iftar). Ms West has given us a run down on part of past invitation lists, Guess Who Came to Iftar for Dinner? My, My. It seems the man who has trumpeted a strong fight in the "ideological struggle" of the century has broken bread with supporters of Sharia and possibly with supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood--some bad guys, folks. Ms West ends with this paragraph: I hereby pledge to vote for the presidential candidate who promises to stop submitting to Sharia suppers at Ramadan -- even though that means I'll have to think of something else to write about. That just about precludes a vote for a Republican, we'll see if a Democrat will see the problem. In any event, let me celebrate the discovery of a pony in the horseshit filled Townhall.com. Sadly, there doesn't seem to be any reason for celebration about the White House's guest lists.

The National Guard Isn't in Kansas Anymore

The governor of Kansas was on the tube yesterday stating a couple of disconcerting facts--all of which involve the state's national guard and the war effort in Iraq. The State of Kansas was unable to respond effectively to the tornado in Greensburg, Kansas, because too much of its equipment and manpower is on duty in Iraq. Further, studies indicate the state's guard will not return to "strength" until some four or five years from now. The guard manpower and equipment problem is not limited to Kansas. Problems are arising in other states. The question, then, is to the administration (and supporters of the administration's specific plans for this battlefront in the "ideological struggle" of the century): how much longer are you going to ask to country to fight this war against Islamist extremism without total commitment? What happens to the next national guard effort at sustaining a major public crisis in states such as Kansas, or Louisiana, in the aftermath of a natural disaster? This "war" has been a combat success, but it is an occupational disaster--with no end in sight. Waiting for September is like waiting for Godot. Metaphorically, it will never arrive.

Boot on "Bush's War"

Max Boot ("Loose lips win Pulitzers" in the Los Angeles Times) complains about the absence of "our" when some journalists discuss the Iraqi war, "...as if this were Bush's war, not ours." Maybe so, but Mr. Bush personalizes this war. The Desert Sun, a local newspaper, had a Sunday morning headline which reads "Bush: 'I'm not losing my nerve.'" One wonders: Where is "our" nerve? How much of "our" does Boot read into "Bring 'em on!"? As a matter of fact, just how much has Mr. Boot sacrificed over the past 3 years as a result of "our" military action? Beyond lip service, how much has the American public been asked to sacrifice? This administration has asked for precious little of "our" involvement in this adventure of theirs. Turns out, it really is Mr. Bush's war, one might suppose. A more laughable quote from Mr. Boot's column is "...when the good guys--that would be U.S. officials--say that certain revelations would help the bad guys, I want them to be given the benefit of the doubt." Weren't they given the benefit of the doubt? Isn't Mr. Boot bending over with giving "benefit of the doubt?" Max Boot Iraqi War

Interesting Lessons

The Palm Springs International Film Festival is winding down. Today there will be showings of "winners." The big winner for the past 10 days has been myself. I learned two interesting lessons: 1) French films have become mundane and boring. Whatever edginess they might have had in the early post-war decades was not in evidence here in PS this fest. 2) Non-gay couples are just as likely to be dysfunctional as gay couples. Non-gay adultery abounds in films. Are films a reflection of the society at large? And it's not just in America or Europe. Iran, Bangladesh, India, if the movies are an indication, also have troubled marital relationships. Could that, in a somewhat contraindicative way, be the reason the RWNSs protest against gay/lesbian marriage rights? Is it a large, and odoriferous, red herring? "Let's fuss about this so people won't notice that!"? Hmmm. tagname

Don't Queer My Scam--Hun-Italo Style

So the Vatican is going to weed out gay seminarians. So the Vatican is not going to expel gay priests from the priesthood. Logic? If "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" hasn't worked for the U.S. military, what on earth makes B-16 think it'll work for him? Ratz the Rotweiller has done it again, only this time his lack of moral standing is obvious to even the most partisan of religious fundies. Tough times all over. Rather than have an adult discussion about morality (Christopher Durang writes there's no such thing as an adult Catholic), Ratzy says, "Let the witch hunts begin!--and pray no one looks too closely at the rest of this mess." Vatican