...because even living my lifestyle, Tuesday is no longer the weekend.
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"There is no way you can perpetrate that amount of carnage and mayhem and not incur a considerable amount of paperwork." -- Edgar Wright; "Hot Fuzz" screenplay
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The semi-professional weblog from L. Douglas Garrett, for the purpose of providing a forum for discussion of World Events. All content is copyright L. Douglas Garrett. Comments are the property of that commentator, and are solely their opinion. Please credit your sources, and credit this 'blog if you link to it. Thank you.
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- Sunday Morning Push
- Russification
- Ok, challenge time: Who are you going to believe?
- End-Mid-Week open
- No Go at the SCO
- August 27th discussion item
- I'm so Ronery...
- The Forecast for the Black Sea is...
- The Weekly N&C for August 25th, 2008
- Sunday Morning Push
- Weekend open thread
- With friends like these...
- August 21st discussion item
- Yes, as a matter of fact, I *am*...
- August 19th discussion item
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- The Weekly N&C for August 18th, 2008
- The Kurta Bridge
- Sunday Morning Push
- Anyone who complains is an enemy of the state...
- Weekend open thread
- Heck, I even visit...
- August 14th discussion item
- The George Washington Manuever
- August 12th discussion item
- I got to get me some of those voting machines...
- Midweek open thread
- Zhermanukov's March through Georgia.
- The Weekly N&C for August 11th, 2008
- Sunday Morning Push
- August 9th discussion topic
- Weekend open thread
- August 8th discussion topic
- The Georgian side of the story
- Some Anniversaries are of bad things...
- August 7th discussion item
- August 6th discussion item
- So much for Civilian Control...
- Midweek open thread
- August 5th discussion item
- The Weekly N&C for August 4th, 2008
- This just in from Colombia...
- In charge of "sensitive files", eh?
- Sunday Morning Push
- August 2nd discussion item.
- Weekend open thread
- Oh, joy. Fukuda reshuffles the Cabinet.
- August 1st discussion item
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About Me
- L.Douglas Garrett
- Tochigi-shi, Tochigi-ken, Japan
- Specialist in the Humanities / International Services. Freelance Consultant and Teacher.
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25 comments:
Okay, found the blog. Thanks LDG for the invite.
What do you think of Obama and the "race issue"? Is it an issue? Who's making it an issue? From what I see, the only person who keeps bringing it up is Obama himself.
I don't have a problem with having a black President. If Alan Keys were running for Prez, I'd vote for him!!! I do have a problem with voting for a man who keeps bringing up the race issue. Get over it! We are AMERICA! Who cares what color you are? I'm voting on a man NOT a color!
Hi Florida
Glad you found us - you will find the posting is way way faster.
I agree with you completely on the race issue, and you are right, the only person bringing it up is him. I also don't care what color skin someone has, makes no difference to me.
I do, however, feel very uneasy about Obama, and in my own heart do not trust him to lead our wonderful country. I will not be voting for him now or ever, and it has nothing to do with the color of his skin!!
Issues are manufactured in politics. It is up to the wisdom of the electorate to see which are germaine and which are intentional misdirection.
Making a discredited idea like "race" into an issue shows that (some) politicians have no respect for the electorate.
Now, if the politician had to face *this* without complaint, and win, they would have my respect. (Yes, there has been one such success)
LDG,
I just read an interesting article on the recent promotions out of the promotion board chaired by Gen Petraeus on Slate.
This sounds like a very important change in outlook for the US Army, and I'm wondering what your reaction is.
Regarding Obama, I share kc-fresno's feelings of unease. I just don't think the man has enough experience to be our president. Of course, in addition, I'm not at all fond of his big-government capital-L Liberal background.
I wish I was more comfortable than I am with McCain though.
I'm torn between the remaining candidates: Nobody or Cthulu.
FYI All -- ...and the reason I am here now (instead of asleep where I belong) is to post this notice:
***
From Blogger Status
Blogger will be unavailable Tuesday (8/5) at 4:00PM PDT for about 10 minutes for maintenance.
***
I was shocked to see you posting at (mumble-carry-the-1...) 7:00am! Do you have special windows to protect you from the yellow ball in the sky?
@Will
The recent round of Promotion Board activity is hugely important. For the first time in this Long War, someone is actually thinking about what kind of General Officers the U.S. Army needs and will need. It ranks up there with giving Grant the Union Army.
(digression: hehhehheh ...Cthulu)
@Will
"...special windows..."
Cloudy day, pulled down all the blinds. Doesn't hurt too bad.
((grin))
LDG
Do you wear one of those "cute" eye masks to avoid the big yellow ball when you sleep????
Now, get back to bed and get some sleep!!!!
@KC
Naw, it is an acquired skill but I can sleep ANYWHERE.
Speaking of sleep, I'll be right to that after...
***
@karl, if you look in here
You *really* should see all the names on the Promotion Board list.
***
ok, hi-ho and out I go. Be well and safe, All.
@ Will...what or who is Cthulu?
so this is where everyone came to? I had my two hour session with LDG this morning in the South Korea thread-
sunshine-
Cthulhu is a giant fictional being, one of the Great Old Ones in H. P. Lovecraft 's Cthulhu Mythos. It is often cited for the extreme descriptions given of its appearance, size, and the abject terror that it invokes. Because of this reputation, Cthulhu is often referred to in science fiction and fantasy circles as a tongue-in-cheek shorthand for extreme horror or evil.
there is even a webpage which shows- Cthulu for President 2008
As for Obama-- I am burnt out on this back and forth about this race issue. Now it is about him not looking like the President on the five dollar bill! Geez Louise, no one looks like any of those guys from that time!
sunshine-
click on LDG's blue "this"
signed,
gaikokujin
LDG--
Are you referred to as a gaijin in Japan?
Will is funny!!
(mumble- carry the 1)
I use to use my fingers to count the 16 hour difference! LOL
LDG--
I am looking forward to my next assignment! step wise!
I hope you got some sleep!
KC and Sunshine-- you know where to find me now!
@LDG-
(Yes, there has been one such success)
Care to elaborate?
@Max--
I hope you come in here to have some fun--
read the weekly by LDG-- I think you might find it of interest going back to some old comments we had posted on Adam's and this weekly was talked about!
xxx
@Susan
re: "Are you referred to as..."
yes.
If not done in malice, I explain that eijuusha (permanent resident) or hakujin (paleface, European-ancestry) probably suits better, and that usually stuns the speaker into using more usual references to "customer", "visitor", or such. With children, I jokingly look about in panic "Where?" and once they laugh, explain that I am in fact a bear that has come down from the mountains. That's usually long enough for the kids to get the hint that I am not an "outsider" and that ends any concerns.
The linked article (from mine at 2:39 pm) is completely correct about one thing though: Japanese Culture is *intensely* insular. Being "not from around here" has a couple thousand years of negative connotations. People didn't move homes (they couldn't, legally, without highly unusual permissions). Wanderers were outlaws. Even those permitted to travel to do commerce were viewed with suspicion not too different from the European distrust of travelling merchants.
re: "Care to elaborate?"
Marutei Tsurunen of the DPJ. First openly naturalized Japanese to serve in the kokkai (Diet, or Parliament).
I've seen negative Obama comments and statements of unease indicating unwillingness to vote for him. Can anyone give me, say, ten good, positive, compelling reasons to vote for the other guy?
@mr. bill
Wooo... Good Point!
10 is going to be a challenge, because this Presidential Election has clearly become a referendum on Obama vs. Not Obama.
I can start with a couple-three, but then I'll leave this to others for a while:
1) I want the sort of Supreme Court Justices that I think Mr. McCain will appoint, given the openings.
2) When push came to "surge" in the war, he learned pretty quickly that "surge" = a chance of winning, and backed the play even against the popular mood of the moment.
3) His voting record places him in the Conservative Right, but not in the Religious Right. (personal note to Bill: Remember I was a supporter of Bush 41 until he moved to embrace the Religious Right during his re-election campaign.)
When Ken watches McCain on the tele, it never fails for him to say,"he is too old to be President." It cracks me up!
#4-- Well, if McCain wins, it will definitely put AZ on the map-- now whether this will favor AZ, time will tell-
mr. bill-- I am not real crazy about either-- but McCain seems to be the better of the two-
@mr. bill:
I wish I had some reasons. Everything I come up with boils down to being afraid of what Obama would do in his place.
bleh. This is basically the same reason for how I voted in the last several elections. :(
One of the reasons why I'm asking is that given McCain's voting record, and given the people he has working for him, and given the shape the country & economy is currently in, I'm not so sure that we, as a society can afford four more years of something very similar to what we've had.
I keep hearing about Obama's lack of experience, but then I look at the presidencies of two presidents close to his age at election -- Clinton & Kennedy -- and while there are faults in those administrations, the faults aren't worse than what we've had. Furthermore, no president does it alone. He has a raft of advisors & planners & implementers, all of whom have been around the block a few times.
We have a $700+ billion deficit and we're close to $1 trillion in debt to other countries (like China) to pay for our SW Asia Adventure. The dollar is tanking, we owe Mexico money, rather than the other way around, for instance. Money's been moved from US infrastructure maintenance to projects outside the country. It goes on and on.
Frankly, I'm less afraid of what Obama would do than what McCain would continue.
Brave words, Bill, and if you had started with "...4 more years of the same mistakes" I might be in pitching on your side of the issue. However...
re: experience. The man couldn't hold W.J. Clinton's proverbial jockstrap. Playing in the shallow pool of Illinois State politics didn't even give the seasoning of "southern" Democratic party infighting. Don't even try to put him in J.F. Kennedy's league, because he's simply not of that calibre of person.
re: advisors. Have you *seen* who is using the campaign to fish for jobs in an Obama presidency?
re: deficit issues. Closer to 550, even with the war supplimentals, IIRC, but you have a good point that it is unsustainable. Just be careful of conflating the issues of currency devaluation and the issues of foreign debt, because they way those two work together is actually a mitigating trend rather than an exaserbating one. But if you are pointing out that a "spend-spend" attitude in the government is a bad thing, I'm with you all the way. Wheel out the Democratic Party platform points on cutting non-war spending and you've got my attention.
***
@Susan
re: McCain good for AZ.
Don't get me wrong but I can't hang my hat on that as a reason to pull the switch for J. McCain. In fact, I'd look for either candidate to rise above being a Senator beholden to any one state as a goal. But look at my (6), below.
***
@All
Here's a couple more plus points for the GOP side, in my book:
5) Nuclear Power. Whether you are an old-school industrialist or a hydrogen-economy hopeful, you are going to need modern nuclear power for the next 50 years. McCain has signed on to push it on the agenda.
6) Immigration. I am about as pro-immigration a fellow as you are going to find (being an immigrant), but I have absolutely no tollerance for "multicultural" approaches to society. J. McCain has strengths and weaknesses on this issue, but when it comes down to resolving the matter for this generation in the U.S., I'll take the benefits of a "close the holes; integrate the existing migrants; allow for more controlled immigration in the future" and deal with beating the multiculturalists issue by issue.
7) I'm a free trader, and I believe in trading preferentially with our allies. The support for FTA's with Colombia and South Korea in particular are McCain strong points absent from the opposition's position.
Here's the latest tracking poll results from Rasmussen...
Here
...and it seems that on most domestic issues McCain is moving in the right direction.
The odd outlier seems to be "ethics", where the Democrats are still considered more trustworthy. I call this an outlier because it must be based on memory (see all the GOP screw-ups over the years) and an abject unawareness of B. Obama's lockstep relationship with ACORN and a host of other parasites on the public trust.
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