Democratic Ideas – No. 2

Ken AshfordDemocratsLeave a Comment

Targeting the Terrorists More Effectively.  Keeping America secure means stepping up the fight against the radical Islamic fundamentalism. Democrats will work to increase our Special Operations forces by 2,000 to attack the terrorists where they are and to protect our freedoms here at home.  We will further enhance our efforts against enemies by targeting the institutions that spawn new terrorists.  Democrats are also united to ensure that the world’s most dangerous weapons stay out of the hands of terrorists.  We will expand the pace and scope of programs to eliminate and safeguard nuclear materials, enhance efforts to keep these and other deadly materials out of the hands of terrorists, and assist state and local governments in equipping and training those responsible for dealing with the effects of terrorist attacks involving weapons of mass destruction.

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Democratic Idea No. 1: Standing With Our Troops

Sig Frohlich, R.I.P

Ken AshfordPopular CultureLeave a Comment

Sig Frohlich is dead.

Sig Frohlich, who has died aged 97, was a bit-part actor for much of his long career in Hollywood, playing messengers, waiters, callboys, clerks and soldiers, rarely earning even a flicker of recognition from viewers over 50 years.

In 1935 he was a mutineer in Mutiny on the Bounty, starring Clark Gable, and a gentleman in A Tale of Two Cities. He had his first screen credit in the crime drama Riffraff (1936), with Jean Harlow and Spencer Tracy. The following year he was cast in Speed (with James Stewart) and Born to Dance (with Eleanor Powell); he was also a soldier of the evil Emperor Ming the Merciless in the Flash Gordon series.

In 1938 Frohlich signed a contract with MGM. This led to smaller parts, such as a man lighting a cigarette opposite Ava Gardner in the comedy romance This Time for Keeps (1942) and as Jean Rogers’s old flame in Sunday Brunch (1942). But he was so dazzled by the glamour of MGM that he turned down larger roles in two films produced by Monogram.

After Pearl Harbor, he enlisted in the Army Air Force to become a B-24 gunner in action over the Pacific. On returning to MGM in 1946 he became Mickey Rooney’s stand-in on the set of such films as Killer McCoy (1947), Words and Music (1948), The Strip (1951), The Atomic Kid (1954) and A Nice Little Bank That Should Be Robbed (1958).

He played an air traffic controller in Stanley Kramer’s film It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World! (1963); appeared in Once is Not Enough (1975), with Kirk Douglas; and in First Monday in October (1981), with Walter Matthau and Jill Clayburgh. His role as a judge in Kevin Costner’s American Flyers (1985) and as Debbie Reynolds’s business partner in Jo Jo Dancer (1986) were two of his bigger parts.

But what role is he most famous for?  Why does he merit a mention on this blog?

Answer below the fold….

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Just Wondering…

Ken AshfordRandom MusingsLeave a Comment

Why is it that whenever I see a picture of Bill Gates speaking at some press conference or symposium, he always looks like he’s singing a ballad in a Broadway musical?

Gatesshow

"Rivers belong where they can ramble…."  Bill Gates wonders if he will ever find his "Corner Of The Sky"

Malkin Using Up Nation’s Supply Of Tin Foil

Ken AshfordRight Wing Punditry/IdiocyLeave a Comment

What the hell is the matter with Michelle Malkin?  It seems that she can’t read a single story without implying it is some conspiracy.  Here’s the latest:

Bunch of readers and bloggers are sending word of this weird story:

A man who fatally shot himself in his University City condominium during a standoff with San Diego police was identified Saturday as a 29-year-old student.

An autopsy is scheduled tomorrow on the body of Michael Armstrong, medical examiner Investigator Sal Rodriguez said.

Police were sent to the 8700 block of Costa Verde Boulevard after someone reported a strong odor coming from a condo about 1 p.m. Friday, SDPD Sgt. Jim Schorr said.

A man in the condo told officers everything was fine and shut the door, Schorr said. Within a couple of minutes, a gunshot was heard, prompting police to clear the building, Schorr said.

Police eventually sent in a camera-equipped robot, which transmitted images of a body in the unit. When officers made entry after a standoff of about six hours, a chemical lab was found in the bathroom of the condo, police said.

Exactly what about this story is "weird"?  I mean, it dosn’t happen every day, but why was it worth a mention on Michelle’s blog???

Well, here’s the answer.  I changed something from Michelle’s post.  The suicide’s name was not "Michael Armstrong"; it was "Khaled Yasufi".  NOW we know why it was relevant to Michelle.  And yet, she claims she is not racist.

Holy Crap

Ken AshfordAvian/Swine FluLeave a Comment

BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) — The likelihood of a human flu pandemic is very high, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt said as he began a tour of Southeast Asia to coordinate plans to combat bird flu.

– CNN.

Headline I Love

Ken AshfordIraqLeave a Comment

Sploid: Weepy Iraq Hawks Admit They Blew It

It refers to this story in the Financial Times: Conservatives and exiles desert war campaign.

Even among the strongest advocates in Washington of the war in Iraq there is a sense of alarm these days, with harsh criticism directed particularly at the draft constitution, which they see as a betrayal of principles and a recipe for disintegration of the Iraqi state.

Expressions of concern among conservatives and former Iraqi exiles, seen also in the rising disillusionment of the American public, reflect a widening gap with the Bush administration and its claims of “incredible political progress” in Iraq.

Over the past week, two of Washington’s most influential conservative think-tanks, the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) and the Heritage Foundation, held conferences on Iraq where the mood among speakers, including Iraqi officials, was decidedly sombre.

Kanan Makiya, an outspoken proponent of the war who is documenting the horrors of the Saddam regime in his Iraq Memory Foundation, opened the AEI meeting by admitting to many “dashed dreams”.

He said he and other opposition figures had seriously underestimated the powers of ethnic and sectarian self-interest, as well as the survivability of the “constantly morphing and flexible” Ba’ath party. He also blamed the Bush administration for poor planning and committing too few troops.

The proposed constitution, to be taken to a referendum on Saturday, was a “profoundly destabilising document” that could “deal a death blow” to Iraq, he said.

Can I say "We told you so" now?

Democratic Ideas – No. 1

Ken AshfordDemocratsLeave a Comment

The meme emerging from the right nowadays is "Well, yeah.  Okay.  Bush kinda sucks, but the Democrats don’t have any ideas, so why are they any better?"

I am tired of hearing this, so . . . for the next several days, I will present Democratic ideas.  Agree with them or disagree with them, but don’t say they don’t exist.  Today’s installment follows.

Standing With Our Troops. Democrats believe that putting America’s security first means standing up for our troops and their families.  Democrats will work to increase our military end strength by up to 40,000 by 2007.  We will create a Guard and Reserve Bill of Rights to protect and promote the interests of our dedicated citizen soldiers.  Democrats will also fight for the families of those who serve our country.  This includes providing income security and immediate access to affordable health care.

Response Time

Ken AshfordDisastersLeave a Comment

From The Left Coaster:

The quake struck Saturday. Within two days, the Bush Administration had already started delivering blankets, tents, food, and water. Plus, water, food, blankets, and medicine for 2500 families will arrive in Pakistan tomorrow. More importantly, heavy lift and supply helicopters and engineering support will be there immediately.

Now, tell me again, how many days did it take the Bush Administration to get the same supplies and equipment into New Orleans and Mississippi in the wake of Katrina?

Red Alert AGAIN?!?

Ken AshfordRight Wing Punditry/IdiocyLeave a Comment

I’m not the only one who has noticed that Michelle Malkin is fucking scared of everything these days:

Michelle Malkin: BOMBS AT GEORGIA TECH

The scary bombs at Georgia Tech sound like Coke Bottle Bombs – a prank. You take a two-liter empty plastic Coke bottle and throw a bunch of dry ice into it… Screw on the cap and hide it in a trash barrel. As the dry ice changes from solid to gas, the pressure in the bottle builds to the point that it eventually bursts the bottle, making a loud BANG.

Harmless fun, imo. Not the work of ISLAMOFASCIST TERRORISTS and nothing to be scared of.

This isn’t to say that "bombs" are any joking matter and that in this day and age prank noisemakers are appropriate in public places. They probably aren’t.

Michelle and the wingnut army, however, seem to be intent on turning a non-event into something scary. Simply put, they dig fear and they thrive on the idea that we’re constantly under attack from swarthy freedom-haters.

How many times can Michelle et al ring the alarm before people stop paying attention to them?

From The Liberal Avenger.

Michelle seems to ignore the fact that the objective of terrorism is to spread terror.  Which, ironically, is what Michelle is doing.  She’s clearly a victim of terrorism, as well as an unwitting perpetrator.

Michelle, get a grip.

Pass The Barf Bag

Ken AshfordBush & Co., Supreme CourtLeave a Comment

This is ookey:

AUSTIN, Texas – (KRT) – Harriet Miers, President Bush’s nominee for the Supreme Court, quickly developed a deep and almost gushing admiration for her boss from her earliest days in Texas government.

"You are the best governor ever – deserving of great respect!" she wrote in 1997, in a belated birthday note that was typical of the tone she used in her correspondence with then-Gov. Bush.

***

Bush responded to her birthday wish in kind, and included a humorous, if baffling, postscript.

"I appreciate your friendship and candor. Never hold back your sage advice," he wrote. "P.S. No more public scatology." Whether Bush was referring to Miers’ rough-and-tumble time as chairwoman of the Texas Lottery Commission or something else isn’t clear.

***

Indeed, Miers oozes with deference and awe in her letters to Bush. In a 1995 note, she thanked Bush for a visit and called a ride in a plane with him "Cool!" When she wrote Bush a thank-you note for meeting with a lottery job applicant in 1997, she wrote, "You are the best!"

Likewise, in a 1996 letter thanking Bush and his wife, Laura, for serving as chairs of a Dallas luncheon honoring Miers, the future Supreme Court nominee spoke of a little girl who’d raved about getting Bush’s autograph.

"I truly believe if the governor told her she should be an Astronaut, she would do her best to become one," Miers wrote. "I was struck by the tremendous impact you have on the children whose lives you touch."

RELATED:  The tone of Harriet Miers is much like the tone on Harriet Miers blog, which continues to be hysterical.  Here’s a sample from today:

Sooo, if people have any questions about my Conservative Credentials, there’s your answer, I have stood by George W. Bush through thick and thin, that’s the true test of a Conservative. Plus as it says I won the Jurisprudence Award!! Glad thats finally getting some attention in the MSM!!!

Too bad the vote in the Senate isn’t TODAY, it would be a Referendum on the President, the BEST AND MOST POPULAR PRESIDENT IN OUR HISTORY!!!!

Oops I’m late for work gotta GO!!!! SO MUCH GOING ON but I’m on top of the world today!!

NOW They Tell Me….

Ken AshfordHealth CareLeave a Comment

Fishfood I don’t care.  I’m not eating it anyway.  Yuck.  Yuck.

Study: Fish-eaters stay sharper with age

Researchers say one meal a week slows decline by 10 percent

CHICAGO, Illinois (AP) — Eating fish at least once a week is good for the brain, slowing age-related mental decline by the equivalent of three to four years, a study suggests.

And another thing . . . um . . . never mind.  I forgot what I was going to say.

The Smoking Gun Of Intelligent Design

Ken AshfordEducation, GodstuffLeave a Comment

Interesting testimony in the Dover, Pa case, where legal challenges are being made to the Dover School Board’s decision to promote intelligent design in public education.

ID proponents argue, very disingenuously, that intelligent design is NOT creationism dressed up in new clothes.  (More background here).

Here’s proof of the bullshit.  An expert reviewed early drafts of "Of Pandas And People", the intelligent design textbook, and found out that they used to be all about "creationism".  But when the Supreme Court ruled in 1987 (Edwards v. Aguilard) that creationism could not be taught in public schools, what did the authors do?  They merely changed the word "creationism" to "intelligent design".

Here’s the testimony.  In this line of questioning, the expert witness reads from an earlier (i.e., pre-Edwards-v-Aguilard) draft of "Of Pandas And People" (which, at that time, had a different title):

Creationtestimony

And now, from the post-Edwards-v-Aguliard textbook:

Idtestimony

Yup.  Conclusive proof that intelligent design is dressed-up creationism.

Read the entire transcript (pdf format).

“A Conservative Civil War”

Ken AshfordBush & Co., Republicans, Supreme CourtLeave a Comment

Boy, I like the sound of that term.  I’ve had a fairly busy weekend, but I sort of thought that by Monday, the whole Miers kerfuffle would have simmered down somewhat.  Apparently, I was wrong:

How Harriet Unleashed a Storm on the Right

Well, he’s finally done it. By nominating White House lawyer Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court, George Bush has managed to accomplish what Al Gore, John Kerry, Tom Daschle and any number of Democratic heavyweights have been unable to do: He has cracked the Republican monolith. Split his own party activists. And how.

The president’s surprise pick to replace Sandra Day O’Connor has ignited a massive debate among his former loyalists, especially in the blogosphere, where I spend a fair amount of time. Wails of betrayal are clashing with assurances of the president’s brilliant strategic thinking. Meanwhile, the heavyweights of punditry drop columns like artillery shells into what already may be a conservative civil war.

The question on so many minds on the right is: What in Bork’s name was Bush thinking?

Wow.  There’s even serious talk of withdrawal.  And a few conseratives who once supported her are changing their minds.

UPDATE:  Influential Glenn Reynolds adds:

A MIERS MELTDOWN? More and more, I have to wonder what the White House was thinking with this. First of all, when you’re already under fire for cronyism, and you nominate someone who’s, well, a crony, you ought to be locked-and-loaded in terms of response. They weren’t.

Second of all, they seem to have managed to convince a lot of people on the social right that she’s too liberal, while people on the libertarian-right worry that she’s too much a fan of government power. Third, their response to critics and complaints has been slow and weak.