Internet muse.
Daring, bold, never sold.
My daily weblog of politics, humor, philosophy...and a constant and nagging reminder of the existence of universal love....
"President Bush has repeatedly expressed his belief that the desire for freedom among people in today's world is greater than their fear of terrorism. He said that to members of Congress after 9/11. He repeated the message in a speech at New Orleans.
He made it the centerpiece of his second term inaugural address. The remarkable turnout for elections in Afghanistan and Iraq seemingly proved his point. Overcoming great inconveniences and ignoring death threats, millions cast their ballots.
Their example could ease our own fears about terrorism and make us appreciate the freedom we possess."
-Fr. Joseph M. Champlin is the rector of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Syracuse, New York. He is the author of more than forty books.
"We had thousands of people from all over America come to Florida to knock on doors. But the Republicans had thousands of people all over Florida knock on their neighbors' doors, and that's more effective."
- Howard Dean, on the recipe for the GOP's success
See Folley.net for related commentary. "According to Senator Frist, the debate over debating rules in the Senate isn't just about the Constitutional meaning of "advise and consent", it's really about how much the Democrats hate Jesus."
Why is the news dominated by nutballs saying that the Ten Commandments have to be tattooed inside the eyelids of every American, or that Allah has told them to kill Americans in order to rid the world of Satan, or that Yahweh has instructed them to go live wherever they feel like, or that Shiva thinks bombing mosques is a great idea?...
..We are Unitarian Jihad. We are everywhere. We have not been born again, nor have we sworn a blood oath. We do not think that God cares what we read, what we eat or whom we sleep with..
..Beware! Unless you people shut up and begin acting like grown-ups with brains enough to understand the difference between political belief and personal faith, the Unitarian Jihad will begin a series of terrorist-like actions. We will take over television studios, kidnap so-called commentators and broadcast calm, well-reasoned discussions of the issues of the day. We will not try for "balance" by hiring fruitcakes; we will try for balance by hiring non-ideologues who have carefully thought through the issues...
...We are Unitarian Jihad, and our motto is: "Sincerity is not enough." We have heard from enough sincere people to last a lifetime already. Just because you believe it's true doesn't make it true. Just because your motives are pure doesn't mean you are not doing harm...
..People of the United States! We are Unitarian Jihad! We can strike without warning. Pockets of reasonableness and harmony will appear as if from nowhere! Nice people will run the government again! There will be coffee and cookies in the Gandhi Room after the revolution..."
Upon their son's death, Rick and Karen Santorum opted not to bring his body to a funeral home. Instead, they bundled him in a blanket and drove him to Karen's parents' home in Pittsburgh. There, they spent several hours kissing and cuddling Gabriel with his three siblings, ages 6, 4 and 1 1/2. They took photos, sang lullabies in his ear and held a private Mass.
"That's my little guy," Santorum says, pointing to the photo of Gabriel, in which his tiny physique is framed by his father's hand.
- Washington Post
Marshall says:I believe it was the Democrats' addiction to strategy that led them to approve the Iraq Resolution in Autumn, 2002. It was a faulty strategy. Politically, it won them nothing. As a matter of fact, it hurt their standing and integrity with their core supporters. It led our nation to be seen, around the world, as the aggressor and occupier in an unjust war. Key international coalition partners are pulling away (or have already pulled away).
"We hear a lot today about framing or being tougher or being united or dumping the failed consultants. But while each of these prescriptions has some element of merit, each also recapitulates the existing problem -- only dressing it up in clothes -- because each mistakes the disease for the cure...When it comes to strategy and tactics, the current Democratic party is like a drunk in the early stages of recovery or a man or woman who keeps ending up in the same bad relationship again and again with different people..."
Jude's Inner European is French |
 Smart and sophisticated. You have the best of everything - at least, *you* think so. |
Jude's Linguistic Profile: |
45% Yankee |
35% General American English |
15% Dixie |
5% Upper Midwestern |
0% Midwestern |
___"...if you believe "God doesn’t put any more on us than we can handle", but lately you’ve beginning to scratch your head and wonder, I’ve got some advice for you...""Patience to that question was in low repute after 9/11 in this country. The few citizens who asked for understanding of suicidal bombers got accused of excusing the crimes. One has to ask whether politically enacted suffering closes or opens the door to international empathy. Why does suffering imprison some people away from other people’s suffering, whereas for others, suffering opens the door to empathy with other peoples?" - LINKShriver believes that only in religion could we find the strong argument for forgiveness in politics. He challenges Christian churches to add prayers for the Iraqi citizens who die in much higher proportionate numbers than our own citizens. Who could argue that a "man (or woman) of the cloth" is not better able, in our society, to set these challenges than the secular citizen who is held suspect as unpatriotic when he or she sets the same challenges? Rev. Shriver has referred to philosopher Hannah Arendt, who has proposed a reckoning with the past that is a secular equivalent of forgiveness. Politicians who tell their constituents to forget about the past are asking some to forget pain and others to forget guilt. Yet, traumatic pain and guilt plant a time bomb in both the human psyche and political history. We found that out on 9/11. In an article titled "Bridging the Abyss of Revenge", Rev. Dr. Shriver has said:
"Until leaders, citizens and institutions do something about this past, their present and future relations are likely to be corrupted by undercurrents of hostility. As William Faulkner put it, men have "learned how to forget quick what they ain' t brave enough to try to cure." "Remember and repent" and "remember and forgive" are better mottoes for the restoration of political health than "Forgive and forget." - LINKDon't forget to read that sermon about hope. We need all the hope we can get these days.
"Please remember to submit your questions for our podcast next week. Elizabeth and I look forward to hearing from you. I'll write more soon."
Q: DID YOU ACTUALLY GET PUNK'D BY JOHN EDWARDS?
KUTCHER: Well, it was sort of a Punk, but it sort of wasn't because it was real. I was campaigning in Minnesota and we were flying back to Iowa I think to do another thing. I was riding on his like Air Force One jet that they have with all the press in the back of the plane and John has his cushy area in front and the secret service is there. We were getting off of the plane and it was very, very strict with luggage checks and things, and they were actually checking luggage on the tarmac. And one of the secret service guys goes, 'Go ahead.' So I get on the plane and one of the secret service guys comes up to me and says, 'Is that your grey bag out there?' I said, 'Yeah.' He said, 'Is there any need for you to be carrying a firearm?' I said, 'No.' I'm immediately began going, 'I was speaking at an engagement and so I haven't had my bag.' He said, 'Well, you weren't hunting or anything like that?' I said, 'Why would I be hunting?!' He said, 'Well, we're going to have to detonate your bag on the runway.' I was like, 'Are you kidding?' I was like, 'Detonate it! I'm not trying to kill anyone, I promise. Detonate it. Do it! Please. I don't want it on the plane either.' Then they were like, 'You just got Punk'd.' I was like, 'That's not even fair. You're like actual Secret Service. You're not an actor. That doesn't count.' But they had a video camera taping it from the press place in the back. I'm trying to confiscate the videotape."
Excerpt:
Many people here will remember his stance on the war first, and not kindly. It can be safely said that I also differ with Senator Edwards' vote on Iraq - but let us not let differences become divides, because it is clear that Senator Edwards genuinely has committed himself to ending poverty, and not merely physical poverty, but moral and spiritual poverty, poverty of hope, poverty of generosity, poverty of participation, in America.--Stirling Newberry
"Like a lot of Democrats, I voted for a bankruptcy reform bill before. I can't say it more simply than this: I was wrong."
Nick suggests:Personally, I think Nick has hit the nail on its head. I don't aspire to be a testosterone and ego-fueled Powerline or to tackle the next big scoop which could make me CNN's Queen of the Bloggers. My own ego doesn't require it. On the average, I get about 140 readers a day. I enjoy connecting with a like-minded community. It brings me satisfaction to know I'm part of a team, regardless of size or popularity, of people who wish to bring about a healthier democracy and social justice; of people who wish to see a more united Democratic party; who share my values, hopes, and dreams for America and the world.
Most of the female bloggers that I know will never become a-list bloggers for the following reasons:
a) They already have jobs that pay a lot better than even the most succesful full time blogging gig.
b) Have a tendency not to compromise their integrity and morality for the sake of appealing to a mass audience.
c) Recognize that in a many-to-many medium, a high quality audience is much more rewarding, both intellectually, and emotionally, than a large mediocre one (if you don’t believe me just read the comment threads at Wizbang).
Shields says:Shields says he believes, "absent 9-11, John Edwards would have been his party's presidential nominee" in 2004.
"If politics were like baseball, the 2004 scouting report on John Edwards would have branded him a Natural, endowed with a remarkable ability to connect personally with crowds of strangers almost anywhere, superior stamina, a quick mind and an exceptional ability to express himself in emotionally persuasive language...."
"Nearly 70 years ago, FDR told Americans: "The measure of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much, but whether we provide enough to those who have too little."
John Edwards offers a different wrinkle: "We have a moral responsibility to help those around us who are struggling. ... How we treat people in their time of their need is the test of our character." To those struggling, "we see you, we hear you, we embrace you, we are going to lift you up."
It would be a lot different message from the last winning Democratic presidential campaign, which championed school uniforms and the V-chip for television sets..."
"Democracy is the name we give the people whenever we need them."
— Marquis de Flers Robert and Arman de Caillavet
"A word in a dictionary is very much like a car in a mammoth motorshow
- full of potential, but temporarily inactive."
— Anthony Burgess, author (1917-1993)
"Infidelity does not consist in believing, or in disbelieving: it consists in professing to believe what he does not believe."
--Thomas Paine, The Age of Reason
Here are two examples:
FYI, the same Marist poll had 51% of NY state registered voters saying they would definitely re-elect Hillary Clinton to the Senate and 56% rate the job she is doing as senator as excellent or good. 43% of voters rate the president’s job performance positively.
Posted by: Chris
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Don’t underestimate the anger with which many women view Giuliani because of the messy way he conducted his divorce. I think he’d have a very hard time winning an election again.
Posted by: John
Excerpt:
I ask, "Who are the wise and who are the fools? Are the wise those who live long lives, acquiring material possessions through stealth, deceit and the exploitation of others while being trumpeted with sycophantic praise? Are the fools those who dare to struggle for a better world, thus spending their often too brief time on earth in suffering, hardship and frustration?
I do not know the answers. But I cannot help but think that thousands, perhaps millions, ask these same questions everyday.
The famed mathematician Descartes once said, "I think therefore I am." But in American society this motto has been transformed into: "To be one must conspicuously consume." So, in the eyes of the society I live in, I do not exist.
Of course invisibility is a fitting fate for a loser. But considering how low people will often sink in their quest to become "winners," perhaps being a loser is not so terrible after all.
"So many big names have passed away so quickly that people have taken to joking about it. When The Daily Show flashed an image of Fidel Castro honoring John Paul II, Jon Stewart’s comment was, “He’s next.”
