Airplane Blather – On the Way to the RNC
Most of my life I rarely talked to Republicans — not seriously anyway. If I did it was without the full knowledge that they were Republicans. I didn’t think they would have much to say that would interest me, that they were intellectually bankrupt and probably greedy, possibly even racists. I was that prejudiced. Of course, secretly I read Milton Friedman, realizing that the educated man should be aware of his economic theories. I did admire William F. Buckley’s prose. And P. J. O’Rourke did make me laugh – although I didn’t want to admit it. But these were the exceptions.
Lately, however, I have been talking to a lot of them and (shock of shocks) many of them are pretty bright, even funny. Also, I have discovered the Weekly Standard, the National Review and Commentary are at least as interesting to read as The Nation and Mother Jones and frequently (in fact I’d say close to invariably) more surprising in their viewpoints. So when I ran my eyes over (quickly, I can promise you) Howell Raines’ much talked about column of the other day in which the former Times editor derided the intellectual capacity of George W. Bush, I could only roll those same eyes. Let me put it to you directly, Howell. I got a 780 on the verbal GSATs (not bad, huh? okay, the math wasn’t so hot – I’m a writer), but I don’t think for a split second that I’m the intellectual superior of Bush 43. Those kind of thoughts are, well, intellectually inferior and [Here you go again.-ed.] reactionary.
Anyway, enough bile. At the convention, I am going to be confronted with something far more significant, my deepest fear about Republicans – that they are really and truly square. As a card-carrying member of the Generation of 68, I have an allergy to square that makes me break out in hives and lose my lunch in dark alleyways. I’m cool. Don’t ever forget it. And that lineup of entertainment these Red Staters are advertising, I wouldn’t wish it on a ‚Ķ [You like country music.-ed. Shhh‚Ķ don't tell anyone.]
MEANWHILE… I am now in NY, obviously (no demonstrators so far, but plenty of Republicans)… only to discover that those Kings of Cool (‘babacool’ in their parlance) the French are in trouble in Iraq. And they were in the ones opposing sending troops. If they don’t learn something from this, they will never learn anything.
Square?
Just because we have Up With People on our i-pods? Perish the thought.
…shooby, dooby, dooby…
You don’t know the half of it.
Who’s up for some three-pack canasta?
Where are the cocktail weenies? Did anyone remember the Faygo?
Par-tay!
Roger:
I gave up on cool years ago. I live in Indiana so what is the point?
Raines can say Bush is dumb but Bush ain’t the one that decided it would be a good idea to run on Viet Nam.
As for the Frenchies, what can they do? Remind the terrorists, ‘hey we’ve been sucking up to you people for years, this is not fair.’
We can blame Norman Mailer and all this for “Hip” nonsense. Damn him anyway.
Didn’t the Democrats lose any claim to “cool” when the Clintons took over and Fleetwood Mac was played all the time at their conventions and such?
The images of Al and Tipper dancing to it make me shudder.
I’m being a bit silly, but it does illustrate how they’ve gone from rebellious youth to basically the establishment.
From Woodstock to VH-1.
And of course, what’s even funnier, is that today’s kids aren’t even being rebellious. They are instructed on what is cool by MTV, which is basically VH-1 for kiddies. But still the same message as the Fleetwood Mac types…
Terrye-
Here in Ohio, Saturday night is traditionally the evening when one goes out and tips over a few of the neighbors’ outhouses.
Get with the program. This is the Mid-West, after all.
After the French promise to leave Iraq, I hope the US Marines will be good sports and release those poor French troops.
Roger,
I sure hope you read a little Strauss too. “Square” has a slightly different taxonomy among neoconservatives. Hope your country music taste runs to the Gaitlin Brothers. You might want to check on who’s playing in Branson this week so you’ll have some small talk to share.
Dennis:
I prefer tipping cows to out houses.
True story:
A friend of mine was having problems with kids stealing hay and in general screwing with him so he laid in wait with his rifle. Sure enough the boys showed up. dumb.
He calls me on his cell phone and tells me to get down there, he has got them. When I pull up there they are standing next to an old truck and they are wearing nothing but their underwear. I say, What the hell is this? My farmer friend says I told the little son of a bitch to give me his keys and he got smart with me. Keep an eye on them while I call the law. The boy trying to look big and bad for the lady [that is me] says You can’t stop us old man. The farmer says, boy I was in the US army and I know ten different ways to shut you up so don’t mess with me.
Nothing like terrorizing the youth to liven up a Saturday night.
See, this is why I can’t stand Columbus. Outhouses? Too disgusting. Here in Cincinnati, we choose to tip cows instead. It’s much more distinguished.
Damn. Terrye beat me to that one.
In case my abbreviated recitation of events did not make it clear my red neck friend made the boys take off their jeans. He reasoned they would net far in their speedos.
Just my opinion, but it always seemed to me that people who are REALLY cool do not spend excessive amounts of time worrying about how they appear to others. But I’ll leave it at that. (Don’t want a repeat of the gay marriage wars)
If you have not yet tried the New Criterion, I suspect you would enjoy that also.
See you at Turtle Bay? I’ll be wearing the spats and top hat.
Not get far is what I meant to say.
I swear to God I am not drinking.
We square Republicans turn up in the darnest places.
http://www.staylace.com/
Click on daily updates and scroll down slightly.
Also (I’d rather you not ask how I know this), a surprising number of porn stars are backing Bush. I think they realize sharira would not be good for business. And they like low taxes.
Well, there goes the thread ….
Hey, I found out the cost of ‘cool’ today…
…and it’s about $400.
I took 71 South to Cincinnati (cow-tipping? bah! for amateurs) this morning to see a client for some Saturday morning accounting. There I am, cruising along the highway in my big ol’ honkin’ Mercedes Benz SUV. Now understand that most German cars (I drove an Audi before the MB) don’t get real happy until you hit about 85 mph. So it is kind of easy to lose track of how fast you’re going at times.
The ML430 I have has a 4.3 liter V8 that could power an F-15. It has a suspension that’s so stiff you could bounce a quarter off it. It is exactly 2.5 tons of sports car. Did I mention I have the 6 speaker Bose stereo system? Oh yeah, loud, baby. And, unfortunately, I presently have The Who’s Live at the Isle of Wight Festival, 1970 lodged in the CD player.
Although Isle of Wight doesn’t have the recording quality or the knife-edged precision of Live at Leeds, what it does have is a degree of wild-ass abandon that isn’t in the latter CD. Especially during Young Man Blues. 3:30 into the song Townsend hits this one chord and then distorts the crap out of it during an awesome 40 second sustain. All the while Entwhistle has this monster bass run going. It’s just bezerk.
The problem is that it induces the production of adrenaline in a certain percentage of middle-aged males of the species. Enough adrenaline that by the time that awesome 40 second sustain has ended and you’ve noticed the red lights in your rearview mirror, you’re doing 102 mph. At least that’s what the trooper said I was doing.
Anyway, I explained, he wrote the ticket and then suggested I get some Kenny G (which I decided about 4 hours later was a really funny thing to say) before letting me be on my way. And you know what? I listened to Isle of Wight the rest of the way there and all the way back. I don’t think I hit 102 again, though.
That’s cool. Doing 102 mph in a Mercedes Benz with The Who cranked up to ’11′ on the stereo.
I’m just not sure it was worth $400 (especially if Mrs. Dennis finds out about it).
Ever read Tom Wolfe’s Radical Chic, Roger? My boy Tom really nailed it.
Now where the hell are my Anita Bryant albums?
Brian-
Check behind the Don Ho.
It’s bad enough hearing “cool” since the word still lives. But square? I haven’t encountered that since about high school.
In fact, it was square to say square a long, long time ago.
What’s really timeless is music. What I don’t understand is the nobody specializes in acid rock and music of that era. That’s the stuff that’s *cool* to me. Maybe roger has some – anyone check?
I read somewhere that country music actually sells more than hip hop which sells more than rock, but you don’t see country musicians feted in the media the way the other genres are.
Also, according to the recent issue of GQ (I think it was GQ), a lot of celebrity Republicans are in the closet because they fear reprisals. Nice, huh?
kellymo-
Just how many cows are there to tip in either Over The Rhine or Indian Hills?
Or, do you try to keep the city clean and cross the river to tip them?
Acid Rock?
Like what? Strawberry Alarm Clock? Iron Butterfly?
You’ve gotta be kidding.
John M.,
He used to – on vinyl too. When Richard M. challenged Tmj to the shooting contest, well, they kind of got used up. He’s still got the album covers on the shelves though.
flenser: “See you at Turtle Bay? I’ll be wearing the spats and top hat.
”
That’s the spirit!
High in the Hub mountains of the Discworld is the monastery of the Monks of Cool. When a novice is to be inducted into the order, he is taken to a room filled with all sorts of clothing and asked, “Of all these ensembles, which is the coolest?” Only if he answers correctly does he become a Monk of Cool.
The correct answer, of course, is “The ones I choose to wear.”
See the red-faced, overweight Iowan in the plaid jacket? He’s cool. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to discover what kind of cool he is.
Regards,
Ric Locke
DTP -
while my husband & I were in college (MU), he visited a friend in Boston for a weekend. He met the friend’s HS classmates while he was there, and one girl asked him, “So, tell me about cow tipping. How do you do it?” His response was, “I grew up in a CITY, just like you did.”
Now that I think about it… with that level of cluelessness, I ought to ask him if it was Vanessa or Alexandra Kerry that asked the question.
Hey, I had the same concerns as Roger. LOL Actually it’s not funny except in a self-mocking kind of way. The prejudices I hold/held are/were real. I honestly don’t know how much has been removed and how much remains.
What I’d like to know is…do Republicans ever play strip poker?
O’Reilly claims he’s an Independent but he’s so turned off by Hooters. Pfeh. I call him a PRUDE. He’s not square, just a prude. And he thinks he’s a ladies man…I’m wondering what kind of ladies?
I’m not a social conservative. But it doesn’t matter (to me, anyway) because I now have respect for social conservatives and their views. Even the ones I don’t hold myself. I understand the push/pull nature of the dialog so it doesn’t bother me. I think Samuel feels this way as well, though could express it much better.
I admit it was a culture shock for me moving from Manhattan (via a few years in New Jersey) to Virginia.
My first programming job here was at a construction company. The only place I could grab a smoke and a cup of coffee was their break room.
Man, and they even spoke with an accent!! LOL I’d never remembered meeting such people before. Except the truck driver in NYC who whistled and told me my legs would freeze when I wore fishnet stockings and a short winter jacket walking down 9th Ave. And NO I wasn’t a hooker! LOL Just a nutty young woman who liked fishnet stockings.
Anyway, I’ve come to appreciate guys like those in that break room. One of my favorite people is my mechanic (well, I don’t have my car anymore, but he was my mechanic). I’ve met more Bubbas, and Earls, and Leroys and even a Rodney or two.
And I like them all a heckuva lot better than the Neil Gabler types I used to hang out with in New York.
Terrye…I sympathize!
I know. I know. Blue collar union types usually vote Democratic though that’s changing. Did you catch the article about the Bar n Grill in Minnesota?
I used to be cool, but gradually I’m crossing over. I’ve tossed my Dead tapes in the dumpster, and I really want to do this “square” thing right.
So tell me…how much does one tip a cow?
The Uninvited Guest and Friend (“Squeak!”) enter the board, scythes perched jauntily on their shoulders…
Ric: WONDERFUL. ANOTHER BOARD MAKING TERRY PRATCHETT REFERENCES. WHERE AM I SUPPOSED TO FIND THE TIME, I ASK YOU…?
Rick Z -
Just enough to get her off her feet.
KellyMo, Dennis the Peasant, et al. ó No, shit, there I was, running out my reserve time with a California Guard unit, on AT, upstate, when some of my VERY urban crunchies decided it would be fun to tip some cows that night.
Anyway, did you know bulls are much lighter sleepers than cows, and surprisingly agile for their bulk?
Rick Ballard ó Hey! We didn’t narc you out for the bathroom sink, stoolie!
Roger -
You might find some squares, but only if you really look for them.
Status Report from the Bluest State:
I spent the day working in the basement. Plan A: remove dark panelling in one smallish room, intending to sheetrock formerly dungeon-like cell of guest bedroom.
Plan B: Discovered that basement is wired to exacting standards of Russian Submarine Service. All rooms wired from DROPS from above rooms. We are in the process of ripping out the entire ceiling of the basement in order to run a code-compliant system via its own box downstairs. Also tending forest of candles on top of woodstove and mantle in living room, lit in thanks of house not spontaneously combusting in the twelve years we’ve been here. P.S.: swamp cooler, kitchen outlets, one living room outlet, and hallway light UPSTAIRS currently running off of ONE twenty amp circuit breaker.
During my afternoon shopping runs to the hardware, fabric, and grocery stores and one fast food joint I heard political gossip/comment/argument EVERY PLACE I WENT. Some of it hot…I’m a vet, but not a Vietnam vet, and I heard one laying down the law to two college-age kids next to their Kedwards-stickered car in a Loewe’s parking lot. It was surreal. Cav vet, 68-69 (Blackhorse shield on his truck), and he told them that when you call somebody a murderer, don’t be surprised when they take offense. And I’m here to tell you, he had taken some serious offense. I wish I’d seen the encounter from the beginning. It wasn’t conflict…quite. Shook the man’s hand and thanked him, left him with a Semper Fi.
I don’t think that Kerry ….no, strike that, I KNOW that Kerry embarked on this strategy with all the presumptiousness that only a liberal icon can muster. The psychology of people like Kerrys, Kennedys, Moores, Pelosis, and the various and sundry moonbats stripping/biking/rapelling/chanting etc, etc, etc, in NYC has become not merely obnoxious but may well be crossing over into clinical. How many people were in the loop that generated this campaign strategy? Are they all so breathtakingly arrogant? Have NONE of these people ever learned from a single mistake?
There’s a lit fuze burning in this country. It’s been sputtering way back in the deepest cave for decades, but now it is racing across the nation. What’s at the end of the line? I don’t have a clue. I’m thinking gestalt…but cannot even pretend to understand what is likely to happen. The fallout of this situation is going to transcend mere winning or losing of an election.
I think I can safely say that the Safe Loser strategem has failed. Catastrophically failed. A cursory sweep of talking head programs seems to indicate that the Clinton Legacy Team is hunkering down, as in not appearing anywhere.
Kerry’s past come into focus is a parody of stereotype. Attempting to sell a script about this abortion would result in the writer being thrown out of any producer’s office. Tragedy requires a hero. Farce demands a sympathetic hero. Comedy requires intelligence.
What the Kerry story has become is absent any redeeming value…and we have to watch it unfold until at least November.
Richard,
It’s not like he wouldn’t have noticed all the pieces when they drained the pool. Hey, they’re gonna have the Jumbotron up by noon on Wed. Maybe we should check it out by watching Kerry’s speech to the American Legion. Ought to be entertaining.
A jumbotron? And a Kerry speech? Call tmj, tell him I’m bringing my .44-40 Uberti clones. If he’ll spring for a box of Black Hills Cowboy competition loads, I’ll share…
I heck, I forgot who I heard it from, but if Hollywood’s “moguls” were Republicans, you’d be seeing Ben Afleck cozying up to the Bush twins.
Having been born and raised in El-Lay (with family and friends tangently connected with The Industry), the town is full of people who’s public persona, including which causes and charities they choose to support, is fully governed by the ethic of sucking up to those who can grants jobs.
I’ve come to realize that “cool” is really regionally defined. We might make fun of bad C&W, but that’s because we give a by to bad rock while waiting for the nuggets of good stuff. We just aren’t willing to find the good C&W, though much of rock’s roots are in it.
Anectdotal story here, but a friend of mine talked me and my husband to going to a rather popular C&W bar/dance club in San Dimas … “Montana’s”. I was very impressed. The atmosphere was warm, friendly, men were gentlemen and the huge dance floor was filled with couples who actually knew how to dance with one another! Considering the atmosphere at other “hip”-type clubs, I’d rather be “square.”
Roger: Enjoy the trip. But be carefull at the parties.
The one thing I have learned in my years in Mittle Amerika is that your average Republican can drink your average Democrat under the table without batting an eyelash.
The Dems are all vegans and think a wild party is a glass of white wine or a low carb “beer.” They are not equiped to drink anymore. The Republicans have been honing their systems on red meat and three Martini lunches. Their livers are made of titanium.
A word to the wise is sufficent.
TmjUtah,
The vets are getting their honor and the honor of the US military back.
Of great value in this war. Probably of as much value as knocking Kerry out of the race. A twofer.
–==–
Steal this sig:
There is a big difference between William Calley and John Kerry. William Calley is a proven war criminal. For John Kerry we only have his word as an officer and a gentleman.
What is the War Hero Afraid of?
Form 180. Release ALL the records.
The Ads: Video links
Roger ó “Of course, secretly I read Milton Friedman, realizing that the educated man should be aware of his economic theories. I did admire William F. Buckley’s prose. And P. J. O’Rourke did make me laugh -” Young foolÖ only now, at the end, do you realize the power of the dark side….
For diversity of experiences and backgrounds, in my opinion, Republicans have it all over Democrats. I’ve never been in a crowd of Republicans where I didn’t discover something about someone I would never have expected of them.
As I recall, someone with the facts said Dubya had higher test scores than Al Gore, a cerebral phenom whose book the Unibomber adored… It was Al Gore, too, who looked at the busts of Franklin and Hamilton at Monticello and asked, “Who are those guys?”
For God’s sake, don’t ever go to NYC without paying your respects to the Frick. Check the hauteur of Houdon’s Duc d’Hue. Admire Philip IV by Velazquez. See if Constable’s White Horse still grabs you as it once did, and make sure the sunlight coming in the windows of the verMeers is no less extraordinary than it has always been.
And when you see the dear folks and gentle people at the Garden who come from my hometown in the heartland, who are about to reelect George W. Bush, remember they are the McCoy, the Middle Americans whom the world depends on.
Cow tipping, eh? I learned the hard way that Dairy Cattle tend to be well protected. That’s from trying to climb over what appeared to be a barbed wire fence without realizing it was electrified. Yiiii!
Our sport around Lawrence, Kansas was catching ‘possums. It seems the KU Medical Center in Kansas, City paid a few bucks for them – more for females.
Hence I have had many a ‘possum in the trunk of the car, and at one point in our dog-run. There are several interesting characteristics of ‘possums. They have more teeth than any other warm blodded critter in America (they are ancient and are marsupial). Also, when caught, they have the ability to excrete about half of their body mass (ugh) so you always wanted to have a burlap bag to store them in.
What we were never able to do was get one of the darned things to “play possum.” We tried everything – no luck. I’ve seen a hog nosed snake play possum (yes, they do that), but never a possum.
Our normal way of catching one was to drive the back roads until we saw one, and then jump out of the car and chase it. They are not fast, and their rat-like tail makes a good handle. Unfortunately, the tended to climb up their tail with the intent of using those teeth, so we would swing them in a circle by the tail a couple of times to calm them down.
One time we caught one and didn’t have a bag. It was a big fat one, so we stuffed it in a nearby mailbox, went home, got a bag, and went back. We opened the mailbox and there was nothing but teeth! the ‘possum had managed to turn around in the mailbox.
So we went home. The next day my English teacher wanted to know why we left a ‘possum in her mailbox (she knew who the possum catchers were). I don’t think she believed us when we said we didn’t know it was her mailbox.
We used to listen to the latest Rock and Roll from KOMA, a powerful station in Oklahoma City, or XERF, one in Del Rio Texas with a Mexican transmitter and 250,000 watts. There’s actually an amazing Kansas-related story about XERF and Doc “Goat Glands” Brinkley. For another time.
So tell me, weren’t we cool?
A quick comment…
Do not consider O’Reilly typical of any group. He is an entertainer, bith enormous ego and terrible manners. He also does not seem to be very bright.
TmjUtah
There’s a lit fuze burning in this country. It’s been sputtering way back in the deepest cave for decades, but now it is racing across the nation. What’s at the end of the line?
Yeah. I’ve been thinking that if I were God and wanted to destroy the Liberals I would do it just this way: get them all together on a little boat, bring in skipper Kerry, and send them out to sea. Then sink that sucker. It’s enough to make me a believer.
I swear to God I am not drinking.
Why not?
What I’d like to know is…do Republicans ever play strip poker?
Oh, come on. Where do you think little Republicans come from? Do you think we bud?
Sheesh.
Charlie(Colorado) ó Oh, come on, EVERYBODY knows Republicans come from “The Lodge” ó Right, Roger? Roger? (“Don’t sleep! They get you when you fall asleep!”)
A jumbotron? And a Kerry speech? Call tmj, tell him I’m bringing my .44-40 Uberti clones. If he’ll spring for a box of Black Hills Cowboy competition loads, I’ll share…
Jeez, guys, we had to put a deposit on that thing.
Those things?
I’m not sure — is a jumbotron singular or a collective, like a slime of Carvilles?
The Lodge?
Jeez, Richard, send me an email.
Dennis the Peasant ó 102? You wild man, you.
But Tim Blair posted something that beat that. Some guy took a V12 Allison engine (the kind they used in P-38 and P-40 pursuit planes) and stuck it in a motorcycle frame. Not sure how it cornered. Not sure he cared.
Darleen,
Having been born and raised in El-Lay (with family and friends tangently connected with The Industry), the town is full of people who’s public persona, including which causes and charities they choose to support, is fully governed by the ethic of sucking up to those who can grants jobs.
I’ve come to realize that “cool” is regionally defined. Snip The atmosphere was warm, friendly, men were gentlemen and the huge dance floor was filled with couples who actually knew how to dance with one another! Considering the atmosphere at other “hip”-type clubs, I’d rather be square.
This is spot on!
Sorry, Roger, no insult intended or implies to you by the following.
Hollywood is made up of a bunch of phonies! They all run around trying to be in the ?IN? group just like in High School! High School is nothing but a popularity contest and what your parents did or which part of town you lived in. I grew up in Rochester MN and went to Mayo HS (FYI: named after the Mayo Brothers who found the Mayo Clinic). We had our fill of doctors kids which for this purpose, I compare them to the people who inhabit Hollywood.
They run around trying to act and look like the working class and we all ran around trying act and look like the doctors kids. Now 27 years later I look back and see how stupid and immature that was. It is not about how you act, how you look, who your friends are, or whether you are ?cool?. It is about who YOU are.
Yes, it is nice to be accepted by this group or that group but my self importance and self esteem is not affected by who likes or dislikes me or who wants to spend time with me or where I work etc.
Some people in Hollywood need to grow up but because of the atmosphere they live in, they either can?t or will not.
The infamous words of Popeye come to mind, ?I am what I am?. If that makes me ?square?, so be it but it does not change me.
Charlie ó I don’t think I still have your e. You can send to me at slayerdaddy@yahoo.com
Charlie (Colorado) ó And it’ll be a collective if tmj springs for the rounds…
Jeez guys, Roger steps out for the evening, you call up your friends, and PARTY. Just clean up when you’re done, ok?
Roger:
A lesson on cool that I received at a early age. I took a employee that I had to a ballgame along with the rest of my staff. He was my age and had a similar upbringing. This was in the early stages of the alt rock scene(Talking Heads,Oingo Boingo, etc, etc). Being a proper liberal Democrat I was of course up to date on whatever Rolling Stone said was the current trend along with the old British Blues bands and whatever else was trendy. I asked him what his favorite band was and he said AC/DC. I quickly thought that he was some beer drinking fool who never got out of his college frat boy period. Then he said Frank Sinatra. Then he said Buck Owens and Mozart. I quikly found out that he didn’t give a rats ass what other people thought about his musical tastes, he liked what he liked, he didn’t try to adapt to whatever the current trend was and if other people thought his tastes were not up to date, well f**k ‘em. That is cool! I thought of this when I saw John Moore’s reference to acid rock. I think that that music was dreadfull, but thats me. If more people were like that, we would have a more vibrant arts scene in this country. Instead a vast portion of this country runs to the New York Review of Books to see what they have to read, not to enjoy the material, but to look “cool” at the cocktail party scene. Then they repeat the reviews and pretend that they came to the same conclusion that the reviewer did. Thats not the sign of coolness, that is herd like thinking. By the way, Back in Black is awesome.
Richard McEnroe -
No sweat. I don’t have anything that shoots .44-40. Yet. I do have dies and components, so I’ll bring 50…make that 500 rounds.
People really like single action revolvers once they’ve actually had a chance to shoot one. If the ceiling is high enough in Roger’s rumpus room I can show you a neat trick with a fifty cent piece, glass ashtray, and a cantelope.
That .45-70 stuff was pretty cool last time. If I remember correctly Mr. Robbin’s surviving fountain (a rather stylish execution of a urinating cherub) is only half the size of the Winged Victory that was hit on the third shot. I’m bring my M-1, and will wager a signed copy of Unfit for Command that I can hit it with my first shot. The smaller size of the target and my aging eyes over iron sights at night ought to compensate for the technological superiority inherent in my weapon of choice.
I don’t drink anymore, but if people want to get into the spirit of the thing, we can get three people to hold me up like was done for the other gentleman, last time around.
Chuck -
That’s a great analogy. Tipping point, indeed. I’ve watched five or ten minutes cummulative of the moonbat chronicles from the streets of NYC. America, this is the loyal opposition. Right.
M. Simon -
Any sane American unconciously accepts that a Vet has stepped up in a way that can’t be equalled by any number of put out fires, felony arrests, or won elections. Whether a single tour peacetime soldier or Audie Murphy, they gave themselves up for the country. The realization is dawning that there’s a huge minority in this country who have a problem acknowledging that fact.
P.S. Even if I miss the first shot and have to pay up, tracers are ALWAYS fun!
DTP,
Well, I’ve only had my ML320 up to 95 but its probably the smaller engine and the fact that the missus is sitting next to me whenever I get on open road. She doesn’t approve of anything higher than 80.
As a life long republican, I do not listen to any christian rock. The whole intolerant-christian-right meme for republican just makes it easy for the left to ignore the arguments. I am blues and Rolling Stones type of guy who considered the Beatles too “bubblegum”. I loved Dylan when he went electric. My Bose system blares old Dylan, Tom Petty, Jimmy Buffet, the Stones, and some acoustic blues. Occasionally I throw in some Gilbert and Sullivan. Nothing finer than opening the windows and treating the guy next playing rap to “With Catlike tread”.
Hopefully, Roger will soon find that the GOP is acutally more diverse than he assumed. Roger may have forgotten that both parties are more classically liberal than those in other countries. A lot of the argument of the last half century was not about “liberalism” but about how to deal with communism. I’ve always taken a more engineering approach to things. I’ve felt the Dems are the masters of the unintended consequence disaster. I once said that there are three aspects to political policy. Foreign policy, fiscial policy, and social policy. I’ve been GOP for the foriegn policy strength and less government interference. The social policy will slowly follow the will of the people. the people are becoming more tolerant.
Roger, there are few things more hilarious that Howell Raines thinking he has any credibility left at all to tell anyone anything about IQ.
“the French are in trouble in Iraq. And they were in the ones opposing sending troops. If they don’t learn something from this, they will never learn anything.”
Ahhemmmm…haven’t YOU learned anything from history? French? Change? oh la la…mon dieu….
KevinP ó When these young whippersnappers come up with anything that rocks like “Thunderstruck” or Cheap Trick Live at Budokan then I’ll listen. Meanwhile Velvet Chain and Leahy are pretty easy on the ears…
the problem with “cool”: it’s restrictive and confining.
it’s like zoning laws. sure, you want to live in a hip part of town, where all the buildings are perfect, the spanish style apartment buildings restored well, the victorians spot-on. you imagine the garage doors being left open and the unsightly things inside, the cars on the street, the unmanicured lawn, the dumb looking swingset in back, and the bad color choices, and you wouldn’t want to live there.
but of course, instead, you get to live somewhere where some committee tells you what color you can paint your OWN HOUSE, you can’t leave your garage door open for more than an hour, where no gun store can exist, etc. etc. etc. yup, that’s what cool buys you.
having never been cool, it’s clear that the cool kids were the ones who never got too passionate or worked up about anything. sure, they had causes, but they were just part of the scene–and the scene didn’t really change much from the 60s through to now (the raver kids all believed in Peace, Love and Respect–OBVIOUSLY. what thought! what content!) all that’s changed in what’s cool now appears to be that now they mistake irony for courageous dissent.
and of course, it is possible to be so square that you are hip–perhaps you’ll meet some of those.
Cool,France,the nation that gave us Johnny Halliday,Charles Aznovoice,Sasha Disgrace and accordion music,cool? Rock me bebi wiz le groovy rock and roll!
PeterUK
Je pense que nous sommes les seuls qui sont ÔøΩveillÔøΩs.
(Thought it would be “cool” to reply in that strange language they speak in Frogistan.)
Jamie Irons
Man, TypeCast (or whatever the hell it is) does not take the the e avec accent aigu!
Jamie Irons
Roger is old enough and cool enough to have cut his liberalism on Tom Rush, Ian and Sylvia, Harry Belafonte at Carnegie Hall, P P and M anywhere, The Limelighters and can, even today, remember the words to “Zombie Jamboree”. He probably even rode on the MTA.
Sorry Jamie,Frogish is totally wasted on me,we only did one language at school and that was Krautish,I have endeavoured never to pick up any Frogish since. We’ve had nothing but trouble with them since 1066, all this crap about triangulation,they’ve always been at it.
Anyway how can you have gallic passion and be cool,schizophrenic if you ask me?
kellymo-
Would that be my alma mater you are referring to? Good ol’ Mother Miami?
Regarding Strip Poker and Republicans-
I can only speak for myself, and even then only for my college days in the late ’70s, but one of the primarily reasons I became a Republican was that even as a young, lustful man, spending an evening discussing Marx and Che just wasn’t worth the sex. And for whatever reason, it seemed the sex with Leftist Females was never as good as it should have been.
Anyway, my senior year I was invited to move in with a very Republican female…and I found out her idea of fun on Saturday night was to lock the door, roll two joints, crack open a bottle of whiskey, get naked, and watch Plan 9 From Outer Space on Bob Shreve’s Late, Late Show.
Now how you gonna ever vote Democrat after that? Makes me want to vote Republican right now, just thinking about it.
Also, beyond the Republican authors mentioned, we would be remiss if we did not mention Joe Bob Briggs…who throughout the ’80s defined the cultural sensibilities of youngish Republican such a myself while simultaneously skewering Political Correctness to a degree unsurpassed even today.
DTP – You betcha. As a merger, we get the Valentine’s Day card every year from Oxford.
Can Republicans be bright, cool, play poker and exist someplace like Hollywood?
Well James Woods has an IQ of 180, is one of the best poker players around and is a Bushie. So there you go.
May I break into the discussion for a question ?
Did anyone watch Sunday’s Meet the Press with Guiliani followed by Hillary ?
There is no better political interviewee than Guilani; intelligent, down-to-earth, funny, self deprecating, almost an anti-politician. When Russert called him a possible GOP “darling” in 2008, Rudi quipped “Tim, “darling” does not make it for a guy from Brooklyn!”
Contrast his candor with Hillary; be assured
the 90s capacity for obfuscation, avoidance and political non-speak is alive and squirming in the junior Senator from the Empire State. She is the epitome of political garbage no talk, there is no there there. She was such a poor interview in stark vivid contrast to the refreshing Guilani that my big fear that somehow some way in 2008, she would run and be elected to the presidency substantially lessened. I can now sleep at night.
And it’ll be a collective if tmj springs for the rounds…
If Tmj springs for the rounds it’ll be a pile of rubble.
Oh, what the hell. The deposit’s not on my Visa.
People really like single action revolvers once they’ve actually had a chance to shoot one. If the ceiling is high enough in Roger’s rumpus room I can show you a neat trick with a fifty cent piece, glass ashtray, and a cantelope.
Nothing like what I saw a girl do with a cigarette and a banana once.
(Hey, LA’s not that far from Tijuana….)
Rog, good news is that the “Republicans aren’t cool” canard is like the “Republicans are stupid” meme or the “Republicans are unfunny” calumny.
Besides, there comes a point where you stop caring about “cool”. After all, if we were the arbiters of cool when we were teenagers, then aren’t the teenagers of today the arbiters of cool now? Unlike one columnist, I’m not ready to put a Limp Bizkit CD in my car just to maintain my level of coolth.
syl — do Republicans ever play strip poker?
Yep, and Bo Derek and Mel Gibson are sitting at the table
Screw “cool” — like Kevin P.’s friend, I like what I like. Browsing through the artists in my Rhapsody library, I see Black Sabbath, DEVO, Flatt & Scruggs, Iggy Pop (with & without Stooges), Woody Herman (hat tip to Lileks), Marilyn Manson, White Stripes, & X. Plus, I just discovered Dead Kennedys (through Rhapsody’s “Punk” channel). The DKs’ “Holiday in Cambodia”, with its ending chorus of “Pol Pot, Pol Pot” is at least the equal of the Sex Pistol’s “Holidays in the Sun” for pure anti-Communist venom…
Dennis,and you ran away from all that to become an accountant?
What I’d like to know is…do Republicans ever play strip poker?
Well, yeah. But not straight up strip poker. To build the pot, so to speak, we play it with a double pinochle deck. Its real interesting to see somebody’s face when they lose what seemed like a sure hand to one containing five aces.
But we do reach a point of life approaching something similar to common decency – or maybe just mature discernment – and, beyond a certain age, play the game blind-folded ’cause, after all, nobody wants to actually see older people naked or even nearly so.
Charlie (Colorado) Oh, so you used that debit card number we hackedImeanresearched off Roger’s PayPal account then, good…
Dennis The Peasant — Joe Bob’s still writing, you can find him online through Jewish World Review.
tmj ó Just remember, modern .44-40 barrels are bored for .429, so bring the right sizing dies. And while you can fit 16 grains of unique in the case, it’s really, really not a good idea.
Watched Fox this morning. Disappointing. They’re still letting Juan Williams get away with that “Well, you have to respect Kerry for standing up and speaking out in ’71″ line… I don’t know if there’s much point in writing to Chris Wallace, but it might be worthwhile to write Brit Hume and remind him of the whole Winter Soldier/VVAW fraud…
This news just in…
Democrat presidential candidate John Forbes Kerry today donated several of his own medals to South Korean gymnast Yang Tae-young, who fell short of an Olympic gold medal this week due to a judging error.
“That young manís uneven parallel bar routine is seared…seared in my memory,” said Mr. Kerry, who is also a U.S. Senator. “Since I had these medals just lying around the house–the ones I earned in Vietnam–I thought it would cheer him up.”
The Democrat candidate said he personally delivered the decorations to the South Korean Embassy in Washington.
“The embassy was closed, so I tossed them over the fence,” he said. “There were some ribbons or some medals…I donít remember. Anyway, ribbons and medals were absolutely interchangeable in the Navy.”
From Scrappleface.
I just saw some of the demonstraters in NYC, they looked a little long in the tooth to me.
I hope they do something stupid. That way the Kerry people can have one more embarassing event to add to the list.
I think Americans are getting tired of the demos, they block traffic they seem kind of loud and obnoxious.
Cool? Hip? Are you s– me? We fans of Steeleye Span and Fairport Convention looked so far down on you guys. And I was reading Artaud, dammit, when you guys were watching 2001 stoned. Sheesh. I’ll bet you had less than 3 Pete Seeger albums and nothing from Folkways.
Anyway, the Right-Wing nutcases who believed Alger Hiss was really guilty turned out to be right, and my intense coolness vanished the day after graduation from W&M in 1975.
Roger L,
You have identified the number one glue that holds liberals together, being seen as being cool. Take out the cool glue and the whole liberal structure crumbles.
Oh, no! Giant Islamofascist Spiders Are Eating Marines! How can we possibly win now?
Eat tracer, you eight-legged freaks!
Some thoughts on various subjects:
I still have my SAT scores (from 1968, so I’m not sure why I still have them): 708 verbal, 755 math, and I think that George W. Bush is plenty smart enough to be President.
In addition, there’s more to the job than being smart. There’s being tough enough to tackle a tough problem. In my opinion, George W. Bush and Arnold Schwarzenegger are tough enough for that, while Gray Davis, for example, wasn’t. I think that that’s a big reason that he was recalled. He’s plenty smart enough (Stanford class of 1967, if memory serves), but he wouldn’t tackle tough problems like an impending electricity shortage. My own opinion is that he was terrified of failure, but the reason doesn’t make a difference. George W. Bush was willing to invade Afghanistan and Iraq without the UN’s approval. He was willing to ask Congress for two tax cuts in order to stimulate the economy.
There’s also not being a fool. President Carter, as we have all been reminded frequently since 1976, is smart. He is, however, a fool, in my opinion. He was fool enough not to realize that he couldn’t trust the Soviet Union. George W. Bush is not a fool.
As for cool, well, I play classical guitar, attend many chamber music, symphonic, and opera performances, and I listen to country music.
I was born and raised in Illinois, and I have never considered Ohio part of the midwest
Charlie (c) -
“Oh, what the hell. The deposit’s not on my Visa.”
Roger may have left the Democrats behind for the nonce, and may well be discovering that ‘conservative’ isn’t square, but he’s in no danger of becoming a Republican.
Republicans NEVER leave our Visa cards on the nightstand when we go out of town.
I hope the denizens of Blog Row like the pizza that will be delivered on Thursday night after the speech. They can thank Roger for that. What a guy!
Richard -
I opted for the Uberti Cattleman Single Action Army clone in .357 Mag/.38 Special in 7.5″ barrel length for my CAS sidearms. I’ll never be blindingly fast but the reloading is much simpler. The long barrels are wonderful for accuracy and accent the ten inch brim on my hat nicely. The fixed sights on both turned out to be regulated to about one inch high and two inches left (point of impact v. point of aim) using the under-powered range loads, so I just have to cover the center of the target with most of the left side visible to ensure consistent hits. I’m saving up for a Winchester ’73 in .44-40 just because of the lines; the Marlin lever gun is superior in almost every technical respect to the Winchester….
…but it’s not a Winchester.
TmjUtah has played strip poker. He also learned that blondes have more fun because they are lucky. Nobody should ever suffer defeat at the hands of a person drawing a six to fill an inside straight – especially when the defeated got dealt THREE SIXES to open. College girls have no respect for men trying to stay in uniform…
LOL! Not only do Republicans play strip poker, they also have a great sense of humor.
And, yes, they are a very diverse group which is something I had no idea of ‘before’. Not that I had ever paid much attention.
ust remember, modern .44-40 barrels are bored for .429, so bring the right sizing dies. And while you can fit 16 grains of unique in the case, it’s really, really not a good idea.
Aw, don’t be such a wimp. That’s why God made bench-rest.
TradeSports Bush contract is up to 57.2, last trade.
Charlie(Colorado) ó yeah, that’s what I’m building up a battery for, CASS. Little history, little theatre and some fun shooting challenges. The Uberti ’73 clone got a great write-up in Guns of the Old West.
PeterUK-
She was an accounting major. Before I met her I was double majoring in History and English. I became an accountant because I couldn’t find a female in Humanities that liked pot, alcohol, nakedness and bad films all at the same time.
And she dumped me…I would stayed with that setup for the rest of my life without a second thought.
Being square is good for your health, especially!
No need to spike your blood pressure on whether you really *are* as cool as you think (or hope) you are – or worry what you have to do to catch up
**************************
As far as intelligence goes with GWB? Personally, I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if he is what they call “Twice Exceptional”. There are people who are gifted, but also have learning disabilities.
Although my IQ is 129, I have remarkably the same difficulty in speaking (espcially under pressure) as GWB does.
My son, who just turned 4, can read and do math at first grade level; but, he has some difficulty understanding some things you ask him – and has some difficulty with word retreval with outbound speech.
In fact, GWB’s nephew goes to a school for children with learning disabilities; the same school where a friend of mine sends her son.
So … Mr. Raines … just because someone is not as ARTICULATE as you might be, your lordship, does NOT mean that you are NOT intelligent. So get to that.
revision: change would to woulda
English major.
Music For Republicans:
I have about 550 CDs.
Around 350 are classical. I have 15 versions of Bach’s St. Matthews Passion, Gould’s complete Bach recordings, 4 cycles of Beethoven’s symphonies, 2 cycles of the piano sonatas, and 5 cycles of the piano concertos. I have 5 cycles of Brahms symphonies and 3 of the piano concertos. I have most of Mozart’s symphonies and piano concertos and about 45 of Haydn’s symphonies. Also have substantial collections of Prokofiev, Shostakovic and Stravinsky and complete symphonic collections of Dvorak, Sibelius, Neilsen. Plus Copland, Diamond, Webern, Honegger…
Around 100 jazz. Much Miles Davis, some Coltrane and Monk, lots of Bud Powell, Chet Baker and Django Rhinehart.
Around 50 Rock. Much Clash, Who, Zappa, Cream and Replacements. Some punk and new wave.
Around 50 Blues. Bessie Smith, Mississippi John Hurt, Robert Johnson, Elmore James, B.B. King, Albert King, Bukka Smith, Son House…
Plus, I’m buying a 40 CD blues collection on Monday from my friendly neighborhood CD merchant.
Let’s see the Left beat that collection for diversity and total coolness.
Roger:
In my rush to get into the what is cool debate I forgot to comment on the more important aspect og the French thread.The French are now in shock because they can’t figure out why the terrorists are going after them. After all they have been the European leaders in the fight to frustrate Bush’s attempt to install a democratic government in Iraq. True they were feeding at the trough of saddam’s bribes for palaces scheme but that is only money.
They still have not come to the realization that the terrorist hate them as much as they hate us. I thought the French plan to restict religous headgear was dreadfull but unlike the french I knew that the Islamo-fascists would be just as pissed at the Frogs for the school clothes as they are for our troops.
The saddest part of this story is that if the thugs who committed the kidnapping slowly saw off the heads of the two innocent men and do their Allah dance with the heads in their hands the French will be more upset at us then they will be at the perpatrators of this barbaric act.When you are neck deep in denial like the French it is hard to get yourself out.You watch, if the unspeakable happens there will be demonstrations in front of the US embassy and the arab pundits will be offering excuses for these thugs actions and the Michael Moore set will be trying to tell us why they don’t approve of the Moore Minutemen’s behavior they understand why they might do it.
CAS
Oh good God. “Cowboy Action Shooting”.
Thanks, guys. Like I needed another expensive hobby.
Charlie (Colorado) ó Heck, you’ve already a great alias for the Single Action Shooting Society.
Maybe we can get Roger to sign up as Levi Strauss!
DtP,
Oh! Yeah!
George Bush never called me a war criminal.
–==–
Steal this sig:
There is a big difference between William Calley and John Kerry. William Calley is a proven war criminal. For John Kerry we only have his word as an officer and a gentleman.
What is the War Hero Afraid of?
Form 180. Release ALL the records.
The Ads: Video links
Dennis the Peasant ó Hey, at least she left you with an honest trade…
Dennis the Peasant ó Hey, at least she left you with an honest trade…
Nah, he’s an accountant.
Charlie (Colorado) ó Heck, you’ve already a great alias for the Single Action Shooting Society.
Hell, Richard, you missed the story about how my grandfather was chased out of the Choctaw Nation by a posse.
I don’t know if Roger would go for that.
I always hated it when I was a kid and we played “Jewish Cowboys and Indians,” and the other guys got to be “Buck” Cohen and I had to be Levi Strauss or “Tzvi” Cassidy.
Jamie Irons
Gawd Dennis,What a sad story,it’s like Romeo and Juliard,sniff. Still it is better to have lusted and lost than never lusted at all.
More seriously, while reading some comments over at “Captain’s Quarters” I learned of this theft of an historian’s FBI files on JF’nK, back in March “Historian: Kerry FBI Files Stolen”…
Why had I not heard of this before?
Jamie Irons
Kevin:
The French went through worse than this with the Algerians and before it was over French had killed a whole bunch of them.
I hope the terrorists let those poor bastards go.
Why had I not heard of this before?
Probably because Kerry hasn’t filed the papers for a second Silver Star yet.
Of course, Kerry would never be involved with something like that.
NZ Bear has an interesting new project up: Campaign Truth.
Terrye ó Yes, but back then the French had a couple of Regiments of German Legionaires fighting for them… one of which mutinied, as I recall.
OK, I have had time to read only the first 10 entries here or so (and btw, my childhood home tually had an outhouse, honest to god . . . eventually my folks took it down and put a cistern in its place).
I do have something to add to the question of cool.
I met Christopher Caldwell last school year, who told me that ALL conferences on national security and the military are, uniformly, attended only by dweeby middle-aged men in shirt & tie.
He said something like, “They all look like me.”
He seemed to feel that was a bad thing.
France news: my husband has been there for a week, in Normandy, and he says the feelings of warmth and even love of French people towards Americans are astonishing.
Yesterday he went into a cheese shop and the owner started talking to him, and of course it emerged that my husband is from America, and on the basis of that fact alone–”I’m from America”–the man insisted on giving my husband his name and phone number because he wants to invite him to his home and prepare him dinner when he returns to France.
We are living in such strange times. I suppose all times are strange in their way, but this one has really got me mystified.
You look at the PEW POLLS and the KOFI UTTERANCES and the WORLD PRESS and the only thing you hear is: World-to-America, F*** Off.
Then you walk into a cheese shop in Normandy and receive a personal invitation to dinner at a man’s house because you are an American.
We had the same experience in England in March. I had thought that was just because England is our ally and friend (and blood relation, when it comes to that).
Now I’m not so sure.
Shirt and tie? What a relief!
My husband and I went to the gym today. Afterwards I observed that I am sick and tired of the tattooed flesh (my husband is more tolerant of this, but then in the gym it was mostly guys, so he didnít care). It somehow suits Polynesians, but on white people it is mostly ugly. I guess that this is supposed to be cool, too, but at least in SF it is so conformistÖ. I dress up just to go grocery shopping, as a counter-culture statementÖ
Katharine, I see a fair number of tatoos in the Pilates Center, and I’ve got to say that they’re looking better to me. One of the girls there has pretty little fairy wings between her shoulderblades, another one has a marvelous calligraphic cat at the base of her spine. Much nicer than the “Popeye the Sailor” stuff you usually see.
Not that I’m rushing to get one: I’m absolutely sure I’d change my mind about two weeks later….
Catherine
Not that I’m an expert, but I’ve heard the Normandy folks have never lost their love for us. It’s other parts of France, especially Paris, where the bulk of anti-Americanism thrives.
——-
Tatoos are big in the 3D world too. I have plenty of Poser folks with various tatoos. Lots of Goth stuff as well. Tons of piercing. One of the big Poser paraphernalia suppliers gave away a package of nose rings and naval jewels and stuff for free one week.
(note: the VIRTUAL kind, of course)
Pilates, Charlie?
My image of you as a bronc busting, gun toting, whisky swigging, red-meat eating slice of the Old West has just taken a beating.
Besides, everyone knows that REAL men do yoga …
Flenser ó Hey, I’m thinking of organizing a Los Angeles company of the California Rangers for CASS.
“Bartender! Gimme a double decaf latte ó in a dirty glass!”
richard mcenroe -
The annual End of the Trail shoot is held in California every year.
I’ve never been, but between the active Hollywood types reprising their roles and the legions of character impersonators, you could probably cast (accurately) ever cowboy flick from The Great Train Robbery onward just from the attendees.
tmj ó No doubt! And let me recommend Empire Publishing, out of Madison NC… they’ve got a good list of cinema cowboy memorabilia books.
And there’s a company that is releasing a lot of the old B Westerns and TV Westerns on DVD for a buck each. I think it’c called Treasure Box Collection, but I’ll try and gave contact info tomorrow.
Roger, babe, no offense but have you SEEN your hat?
Maybe the protesters are right; that by liberating Iraq we have just created more people who hate us. After all, look at the French.