26
A Madonna Screed
When I read on Drudge that Madonna is planning a “shocking” “anti-war, anti-Bush” “commentary” of a video that will accompany the media blitz for her latest toilet paper roll of sonic idiocy to be digitized and sold for $16.99, I think of the most succinct summation of just what Madonna is, brought to us by the lads of South Park:
Madonna is an old anorexic whore who wore out her welcome years ago and should just go fuck herself.
That’s actually much more kind than anything I would typically have to say about her.
Like lots of bloggers, I spend a good amount of my time making fun of the stupid things celebrities say, but compared to Madonna, people like Sheryl Crow, Janeane Garofalo and Martin Scorsese are intellectual powerhouses. Also, at least with the likes of Scorsese you can respect his artistic product even if you have to suffer through his political opinions now and then.
This has always been impossible to do with Madonna, however, because 1) her political/public self is inextricably bound with her “artistic” (not enough scare quotes in the world to do that howler justice) image, and 2) because both of those entities (if they indeed are even separate at all) are so horribly painful to endure.
Now, one can distinctly discern how much of this “American Life” salvo of hers is an urgent cry of relevance to a world in which she finds herself as culturally outmoded as jokes about Viagra.
Ever notice how we didn’t hear much from her since Bush was elected, and even less after 9/11? No? Yeah, me neither. But then, that’s the very nature of a respite from the likes of high-profile stupidity: blissful unawareness amazing dog fucking. When an irritating public persona drops down below the signal noise of celebrity culture, the natural impulse is to simply forget that they ever held a coveted spot of public annoyance in the first place. I mean really, that’s the point isn’t it, to not be bothered by them any more? To forget them as soon as the buzzing from their ego has subsided to acceptably unobtrusive levels? And, one is naturally aided in this by the fact that modern celebrities are usually so completely forgettable. Madonna, with her deliberately frenzied mixture of inadvertantly banal poses struck for the purpose of carefully constructed sexual shock-value, is no exception to this rule.
It seems that she perhaps perceived that the world had slipped into a kind of Material Girl lethe of recent and that she simply couldn’t abide by it, with the result being her inflicting a new album and video (more likely a spate of them eventually) on the world, just to be sure and remind everyone that she’s just as vacuous and reflexively outraged by whatever the squares are doing so she can try to once again shock the parents of the 13-year-olds who buy her crap.
Except this, time, she’s trying to make Important! and Serious!-sounding pronouncements about things other than how monogamy is evil and repressive and that pubescent girls should dress and act like the kind of public slut her money and celebrity allows her to be with so little consequence. You have to sort of instantly feel sorry for any effort of hers trying to branch out into becoming an official Concerned Famous Person, something that is pretty much beyond her capabilities (and considering the woefully low standards required for being a card-carrying CFP, the picture becomes doubly pathetic). Immediately, I can’t help but think of a monkey trying to write a novel. It’s possible that with enough attempts he could approach something that remotely resembles one, but only coincidentally and after literally billions of random attempts.
It’s no surprise that Madonna’s profile became significantly lowered post-election 2000 horse sex drawing. Between then and the September of the following year, she only surfaced rarely to give the odd cheap shot against Bush’s party or the Pope, usually for their perpetual crime of being repressed puritans, or something like that. This reduced public presence after the inauguration of Bush’s America makes perfect sense, for if there was ever a president’s tenure that fit harmoniously with the public phenomenom of Madonna, it was Bill Clinton.
In an era when the president is viewed at large as a sleazy, lacivious scoundrel, and is either hated or loved for it, and when the country is fixated on something as squirm-inducing as the big ugly eel’s sexual organ, how could a figure like Madonna not feel right at home? Clinton was glamorous and photogenic (at least, many maintained as much) and always hungry for the spotlight. He was publicly fixated on all the fashionable things that the Beautiful People professed to care about, and openly enamored of all the more shallow qualities that the hordes of entertainistas really did care about, that is: their own egos, and all the things that could feed them. Despite the fact that Reagan actually worked in Hollywood for years, Clinton was much more in line with the Hollywood persona. If he can be called “our first black president,” then he was also surely our first “celebrity president.”
Maybe she saw something was changing after Bush was elected. I’m sure she, like countless other people for whom evidence is no impediment to their opinions, was certain that he stole the election, but even had he not become presidentr, Al Gore wasn’t exactly Madonna presidential material either. If not a devout Christian like Bush, he was at least eager to pretend to be one for the bible-belt rubes and Moral Majority types woman and dog mating. The fact that the Democratic standard-bearer had gone from being someone who used cigars as dildos on his interns to an almost bible-thumper who was, on top of all that, monstrously boring, couldn’t help but signal a shifting pattern of the cultural wind, one where a Madonna didn’t fit as well as before. One simply didn’t see her as often after that.
And then after 9/11, as far as I can tell, she completely disappeared from the public eye. If the typically-Republican, boring and “repressed” nature of Bush’s presidency, and the things that it said about America’s cultural climate made Madonna uncomfortable with engaging the American zeitgeist, then surely the new atmosphere after 9/11 should have, and perhaps did, terrify her.
She’s certainly not all that bright, but she is, if anything, savvy of what sells. And it would be clear to her that the type of aggressively destructive, anti-social sexuality she came to more and more fixate upon (all comically justified as some kind of self-righteous notion of “freedom” or “anti-repression,” of course) as the 90’s wound down would not be as well received in a country debating the issue of war in Iraq and thinking about the next big terrorist strike that could claim thousands of their countrymen’s lives.
But of course, as she is always willing to latch, vampire-like, onto the next cultural wave and greedily suck (in more ways than one) until all the potential for enriching her pocket and her ego has been bled out of it, Madonna is apparently now seeking to reinvent herself as provocative, outraged anti-war activist instead of provacative, outraged slut.
The Drudge article suggests that this new video of hers will be a hard-hitting, political statement, or at least that’s what she wants her thousand or so publicity peons to feed to the media. One of them describes it as a “sweeping commentary,” which, in such a situation as this, usually means that it’s too incoherent or absurd to be understood intelligibly as being about any specific topic AnalBestiality Gallery. When a commentary sweeps, it doesn’t have to make sense.
Dressed in commando fatigues, Madonna throws grenades as the techno terror beat pounds, claims a source. Limb-less men and women are reportedly shown, with bloody babies.
One disturbing clip features Iraqi children.
“The video escalates into a mad frenzy depicting the catastrophic repercussion and horror of war.”
Something tells me there will also be images of rich white guys in suits and pictures of oil wells. The labored pose shifts from a kinky sexual John Brown to techno Noam Chomsky. But that’s assuming, of course, that she’s ever heard of either of those fellows.
If I were you, I wouldn’t be waiting with bated breath for any deeper thought than what will surely be the implicit, “Look at all this gross, ugly stuff! Isn’t it nasty? I’m pretty sure it’s all connected in some way sex with her pet. Probably to the Catholic Church.”
This kind of clueless hodgepodge of elements is Madonna’s standard operating procedure when she tries to send a message and be weightily artistic, although previously her typical ingredients were race, religion and sex. If I had to come up with the quintessentially Madonnic icon, it would have to be an image of her sexually entwined on a cross with a gay, black man dressed up as a priest.
Many people in the past have breathlessly proclaimed that the very act of her mixing these types of elements is a daring, profound and socially significant statement about our world. If you’re one of those people, I’m sure this new video will be right up your alley.
Well I'm far far far too petty a person to do that.them into a thin paste of protein on a cave wall, to wipe out every last vestige of the disgusting stain they have left
a representative of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was quoted as saying.
And at most, UN weapons inspectors have delayed conflict by a few years, not averted it. In actualyity, I think they have
That is, until this morning. Now I'm glad to say that I've gotten over getting over it, and am thoroughly pissed again.
According to the president, "we cannot wait for the final proof" that Saddam Hussein's government is planning an imminent
which is all about the biggest threat to the security of all companies: their own employees.
military action to counter the Soviet threat was not possible, because of their equal capacity to destroy us through
It may be a sad illustration of my lack to find sympathy within myself without reading descriptions or seeing pictures,
occurred, smashing the window of their hotel room.
weapons inspections in Iraq represent a good example of how the rule of law has been used, and can be used again, to avert
them into a thin paste of protein on a cave wall, to wipe out every last vestige of the disgusting stain they have left
go it alone. What he failed to do was tell us who the members of his war coalition are. Why? Because there is no coalition.
he is willing to act aggressively and recklessly and cannot be reasonably deterred and 2) is working to get and use nukes
For that reason and others, I didn't actually start reading the news coverage until this morning.
Well, being the abject conformist that I am, I would like to welcome all new and oldcomers to my new blog, which will
but I hope to do that soon. I also hope to win the Nobel Prize in Kickboxing, and judge each of those things to be of
economic stupidity, especially when their ideas would do such a better job of it by themselves. Case in point:
Yes, well I suppose you're suggesting that we would be well-served to wait for this "final proof," then? Very well. I'll
And exactly how do you go from no "final proof" to there being no evidence of impending aggression? The very fact that
morally, that this is the right thing to do.
Sorry folks, but slippery slope arguments don't hold water by themselves. We're going after Saddam because he 1) has shown
or any other simply crappy country in the world, because none of them satisfy both those propositions.
You must be triple jointed to be able to twist words like that.
I figured that was the way to go. But then I read this.
the Feds know about it.
I'm going to be checking the weather channel for reports of snowflakes in Hell, but meanwhile you should go read it now.
No nation deserves to exist if it permits itself to lose the stern and virile virtues; and this
Saddam will use these nukes when he gets them, whether that use takes the form of vaporizing a city or merely being hung
without end is causing traditional friends of the United States to
US: Italy, Australia, Poland, Spain, Qatar, Kuwait and, of course, Britain. I know it's hard to find out this kind of
Well I wouldn't be surprised if this Wednesday at Sproul there will be similar behavior, and I plan to be there. Maybe
My sentences, thus decreed, will be subsequently carried out by my elite brigade of Beheading Gnomes, whom I made up
nothing may stand in our way!
or any other simply crappy country in the world, because none of them satisfy both those propositions.
that extended anger and sadness bring, or maybe even from just the fact that my threshold of human suffering sufficient
That is, until this morning. Now I'm glad to say that I've gotten over getting over it, and am thoroughly pissed again.
But it's not really fair to denigrate someone's ideas just because they themselves come from an organization riddled with
off a bunch of secretaries and other office workers who probably agree with them on the war anyway will further their
US: Italy, Australia, Poland, Spain, Qatar, Kuwait and, of course, Britain. I know it's hard to find out this kind of
really just put Saddam in a better situation than he was before because the presence of inspectors invites complacency and
of a lack of imagination or basic humanity; the fact that it's difficult for me to feel deeply for people suffering unless
Already, even if the UN thumbs its irrelevant nose at the idea of going after Iraq (and if it actually does, then they'll
So I hereby declare myself Ayatollah Mustardah of Blogistan. From this day forward, I will call down, on any Idiotarian
Quite the contrary, Bush's aggressive rhetoric, disregard for international law, and his lack of any vision other than war
I'm going to be checking the weather channel for reports of snowflakes in Hell, but meanwhile you should go read it now.
So I hereby declare myself Ayatollah Mustardah of Blogistan. From this day forward, I will call down, on any Idiotarian
Finally, long after the fad has grown tiresome, everyone's attention turns to another scrap of dogma for the next decade.
You mean everyone in America aren't like San Franciscans?
lying in order to gain information that gave him access to restricted systems.
Hesiod over at Counterspin Central is one such fellow. Not only with myself, but in his conversations with Den Beste,
I tried to present my ideas in an honest and truthful way, and not be seriously offensive, even when he acted in ways
democratically decided laws - - not the capriciousness of individual rulers -- should govern human affairs.
During the last half of the 20th century, this principle was expanded internationally through the United Nations. The U.N.
world that even today harbors and offers succor to the same groups that piloted the 9/11 planes, right?
both at home and abroad, can go heartily fuck themselves, or jump off a cliff, or shoot themselves in the head. I don't
I see. Did you talk to this "everyone" at your International Socialist Organization direct action planning seminar or
to elicit empathy had been raised considerably since 9/11,
Why are you still here?!
The BBC has a story about the so-called "master hacker", in which it does a good job of destroying the mythos that
The experience made me think of the instructions from all corners of the media after 9/11 that what we, as Americans,
Also, I've printed out and made a bunch of copies of some flyers from this site and will be passing them out.
alternative economy." I suppose that's better PR than saying they want to impose a grab bag full of sociialistic silliness
to the San Francisco federal building to protest the passage of Bush's resolution for action against Iraq.
computer systems.
I strongly suspect TR had access to some sort of time machine and traveled into the furture about a hundred years.
lap dance.
After 3000 of your countrymen die in a couple hours, anything less than that is wont to be downplayed in significance
For that reason and others, I didn't actually start reading the news coverage until this morning.
that extended anger and sadness bring, or maybe even from just the fact that my threshold of human suffering sufficient
the world to stomach the imperial scent of our newly enunciated military doctrine that proposes pre- emption of any powerful
Another Australian tourist, 18-year-old Rachel Hughes, said she and her boyfriend had just arrived in Kuta when the blast
anger that is so justifiable -no, demanded- by these despicable acts, but if that must be the case, then from on, I'll be
and you'll get diversity in the speech by the politician, in the one by the principal who welcomes him and in the one by
just now. Admittedly they do face significant challenges in carrying out their duties due to their imaginary nature,
the teacher trying to impress both of them.
to elicit empathy had been raised considerably since 9/11,
It is time for a new day to dawn in the Blogosphere, my gnome brothers. A glorious day. A day when no longer will we
, "I don't believe the American people support this war. Everyone I've talked to is against it!"
computer systems.
fact that these people are thugs, bullies and liars.
Watching Channel 7 news today (the Simpsons were in a commercial), they reported on a wad of dingbats who blocked access
the teacher trying to impress both of them.
a terrorist and an envoy of Iran's supreme leader reportedly called for his death.
occurred, smashing the window of their hotel room.
I guess not. The fact that the UN is anything but democratic since the vast majority of countries represented there do not
Hey, didn't there used to be a city where this smoking crater is?
way why we're doing all of this, and why, if they still choose to berate us about "root causes" and "birds coming home
of the mass moron movement.
side of the political spectrum... what are they called?
Now could someone please tell me what concrete purpose that woman's behavior, and that of her great chanting unwashed bretheren,
When they aired some actual interviews with the protesters, I started to honestly think they were part of some sort of
"A bunch of people died from terrorism over the weekend? Sure, that's awful, but we all knew this was going to happen
and you'll get diversity in the speech by the politician, in the one by the principal who welcomes him and in the one by
just now. Admittedly they do face significant challenges in carrying out their duties due to their imaginary nature,
Kevin Mitnick will be able to use a computer again in approximately 3 months.
sloth, or as an instrument to further the ends of despotism or anarchy.
they're done, hang them on his wall next to the framed heads of Iraqi dissidents and say to himself, "Well, I can check
I strongly suspect TR had access to some sort of time machine and traveled into the furture about a hundred years.
course grew out of the experience of 9/11.
or any other simply crappy country in the world, because none of them satisfy both those propositions.
I suppose you mean that it's not "multilateralist" unless France says so?
You try to make it seem as if the Joint Chiefs were lying around on a Sunday afternoon and said to themselves, "Yeah sure,
One of the great advances of the modern era has been the spread of the rule of law. This is the now common idea that
obviously they have lost loved ones or friends."
So I hereby declare myself Ayatollah Mustardah of Blogistan. From this day forward, I will call down, on any Idiotarian
If a good education is meant to produce independent thinkers, I've seen precious little evidence it does. Education is
Posted by Mean Mr. Mustard at 09:37 AM | Comments (0)
by both Instapundit and Cold Fury (and probably by sundry others by now):
satisfy you. I'd be much more amendable to the idea however if you were willing to be a personal eye-witness to this
they're done, hang them on his wall next to the framed heads of Iraqi dissidents and say to himself, "Well, I can check
slope proposition, claiming that because we go after Saddam, we'll suddenly be all aggro-ed up to obliterate any country
the real fault of that government or its citizens, or the West in general, or capitalism, or any other ridiculous boogeyman
In fact, the idea of pre- emptive attack depends on fear. It presupposes insecurity and assumes we will always be threatened.
military action to counter the Soviet threat was not possible, because of their equal capacity to destroy us through
cutting-edge performance art group impersonating real anti-war folks, as the whole ordeal seemed to approach parody. No,
Stand up to these thugs This Wednesday, the 16th at noon, an apparent composite of the Students for Justice in Palestine
"I said it's being taken care of, dammit. Mind your own business."
owned," she pontificated, in that snotty "52% of my clothes are made of hemp which therefore makes me morally superior
we despise no less the coward and the voluptuary. No man is worth calling a man who will not fight
nuclear weapons. Containment was born out of a realization that we were effectively restrained by our lack of strategic
In theory, I was of course angry, but I had a vaguely detatched sense about the whole thing. A large part of that of
I mean come on, when you're arguing with someone who's just going to call you a Nazi when you spend 2,000 words making
And at most, UN weapons inspectors have delayed conflict by a few years, not averted it. In actualyity, I think they have
of constant uncertainty and increased insecurity where almost anything could lead to war.
course grew out of the experience of 9/11.
information with your heads crammed so far up your asses, so I'll give you a pass.
vulnerability.
I figured that was the way to go. But then I read this.
and the decisions to do so would based on (as in this case) measured calculations of the relative benefits and costs,
I mean come on, when you're arguing with someone who's just going to call you a Nazi when you spend 2,000 words making
In your face, Space Coyote!
be replacing the old site that was hosted on that evil of evils, that bane of banes, that something-really-awful of
agree that [insert additional badly-forced car metaphor here]!
During the last half of the 20th century, this principle was expanded internationally through the United Nations. The U.N.
Don't worry, I'll sit here with my rifle ready to take out any airborne porcines, should they come flying by.
If a good education is meant to produce independent thinkers, I've seen precious little evidence it does. Education is
but they make up for any lack of actual existence with pure unadulterated enthusiasm.
Now of course I'm sure that these open-toed folks have a flurry of perfectly well thought-out reasons as to why pissing
But I am thankful that at least for now, I've been able to summon that deep-seated, personal wrath so appropriate to an
That is, until this morning. Now I'm glad to say that I've gotten over getting over it, and am thoroughly pissed again.
economic stupidity, especially when their ideas would do such a better job of it by themselves. Case in point:
United States invade a distant country without any evidence of impending aggression.
rather than submit to infamy or see those that are dear to him suffer wrong.
of constant uncertainty and increased insecurity where almost anything could lead to war.
both at home and abroad, can go heartily fuck themselves, or jump off a cliff, or shoot themselves in the head. I don't
What it does not mean however, is that this suddenly signals that we are going to be going after China, Saudi Arabia, Cuba
You must be triple jointed to be able to twist words like that.
"to prolonged indulgence in luxury and soft, effortless ease, or to the deification of a warped and twisted sentimentality"?
go it alone. What he failed to do was tell us who the members of his war coalition are. Why? Because there is no coalition.
when you apply your own internal calculus of death and suffering and conclude that it isn't something that you need
For that reason and others, I didn't actually start reading the news coverage until this morning.
that continues to characterize the US as the Great Satan and preach jihad against all things Western? Oh I know, the Muslim
rivals.
Posted by Mean Mr. Mustard at 12:47 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
getting an education. When she tried to talk to one of the organizers after her test about how some people were just
I finally went and did it.
Many in the global community also distrust the Bush administration's expanding war aims. It is not easy for our friends around
I suppose you mean that it's not "multilateralist" unless France says so?
a terrorist and an envoy of Iran's supreme leader reportedly called for his death.
the All Men Are Rapists self defense workshop? Surely that must be a representative sample of the country!
without regard to whether the loss is due to the growth of a heartless and all-absorbing commercialism,
cutting-edge performance art group impersonating real anti-war folks, as the whole ordeal seemed to approach parody. No,
Posted by Mean Mr. Mustard at 12:47 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Now at this point, most people would just say, "let it go, and move on."
assures everyone that "Don't worry, the problem is being taking care of by the inspectors."
of constant uncertainty and increased insecurity where almost anything could lead to war.
so that he will be better equipped to fulfill point 1). Show me another nation that's like that today.
side of the political spectrum... what are they called?
You must be triple jointed to be able to twist words like that.
Heh. Didn't Nostradamus write something about "a bespeckled plague rising in the West..."?
and the decisions to do so would based on (as in this case) measured calculations of the relative benefits and costs,
Don't worry, I'll sit here with my rifle ready to take out any airborne porcines, should they come flying by.
Well I wouldn't be surprised if this Wednesday at Sproul there will be similar behavior, and I plan to be there. Maybe
50 Ways to Leave Your Folly Common Dreams, that goldmine of general silliness, showcases this piece, The Folly of Pre-emptive
economic stupidity, especially when their ideas would do such a better job of it by themselves. Case in point:
United States invade a distant country without any evidence of impending aggression.
But I am thankful that at least for now, I've been able to summon that deep-seated, personal wrath so appropriate to an
morally, that this is the right thing to do.
It is time for a new day to dawn in the Blogosphere, my gnome brothers. A glorious day. A day when no longer will we
What it does not mean however, is that this suddenly signals that we are going to be going after China, Saudi Arabia, Cuba
Eventually he got a little ticked off and said roughly, "Get away from me!" I was hungrily anticipating the energetic dissenter
to penetrate.
in words so much more exacting than even those who actually live in that time would be able to produce?
when you apply your own internal calculus of death and suffering and conclude that it isn't something that you need
hunting dairy cows with a high-powered rifle and scope."
I was already in a state of "moving on" and being "over it" before I even heard about the Bali attacks, with the result
we could go and stop the Soviets and all their expansionist hijinks, but then we'd like, have to go all the way over to
Posted by Mean Mr. Mustard at 12:47 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
A taste, just a taste...
Well, being the abject conformist that I am, I would like to welcome all new and oldcomers to my new blog, which will
That is, until this morning. Now I'm glad to say that I've gotten over getting over it, and am thoroughly pissed again.
that boiled up to the surface when I read things like this.
that I hadn't thought of it first!
find testimonials to diversity. Flip through any recent social sciences or humanities textbook and diversity pops up with
faith at large, since many of them are peaceful, albeit intellectually stunted, people.
agree that [insert additional badly-forced car metaphor here]!
During the last half of the 20th century, this principle was expanded internationally through the United Nations. The U.N.
Well I'm far far far too petty a person to do that.
Well, being the abject conformist that I am, I would like to welcome all new and oldcomers to my new blog, which will
without regard to whether the loss is due to the growth of a heartless and all-absorbing commercialism,
Peace is generally good in itself, but it is never the highest good unless it comes as the handmaid
And perhaps because of the collective weight of all those accumulated exhortations, perhaps from the psychic weariness
but I hope to do that soon. I also hope to win the Nobel Prize in Kickboxing, and judge each of those things to be of
President Bush says he wants to avoid "a future of fear." It's an admirable goal, but one hardly served by this new doctrine.
who has been deprived of food for at least 6 hours - sounds like an unusually cruel thing to do, I know, but I'm sure
Really, how often is someone able to so perfectly crystallize the dilemmas that will exist a century in the future
to all of you warmongering neanderthals" tone of voice. She then struck a pose of righteous exasperation when she asked
To quote a boozed up, cynical and misanthropic individual whom I greatly admire: "Making fun of these people is like
who has been deprived of food for at least 6 hours - sounds like an unusually cruel thing to do, I know, but I'm sure
but they make up for any lack of actual existence with pure unadulterated enthusiasm.
Whereas the Cold War doctrine of deterrence and containment rested on strength, the new idea of pre-emption insists on U.S.
If a good education is meant to produce independent thinkers, I've seen precious little evidence it does. Education is
slope proposition, claiming that because we go after Saddam, we'll suddenly be all aggro-ed up to obliterate any country
What it does not mean however, is that this suddenly signals that we are going to be going after China, Saudi Arabia, Cuba
I suppose you mean that it's not "multilateralist" unless France says so?
being the reaction described above.
agree that [insert additional badly-forced car metaphor here]!
attack against the United States. Even though President Bush acknowledged in his speech that Iraq does not currently
So I hereby declare myself Ayatollah Mustardah of Blogistan. From this day forward, I will call down, on any Idiotarian
psychopathic fancy without fear of retribution.
The BBC has a story about the so-called "master hacker", in which it does a good job of destroying the mythos that
So I hereby declare myself Ayatollah Mustardah of Blogistan. From this day forward, I will call down, on any Idiotarian
faith at large, since many of them are peaceful, albeit intellectually stunted, people.
It is time for a new day to dawn in the Blogosphere, my gnome brothers. A glorious day. A day when no longer will we
off a bunch of secretaries and other office workers who probably agree with them on the war anyway will further their
which is all about the biggest threat to the security of all companies: their own employees.
and make them wish that congress had instead passed a resolution authorizing military force against people
curiosity that trumps any sort of legal resriction placed on him, but it's pretty much a foregone conclusion that he's
trying to get an education
and that it wasn't fair for these people to stop them, the girl started literally screaming at her about selfish she was.
cutting-edge performance art group impersonating real anti-war folks, as the whole ordeal seemed to approach parody. No,
The BBC has a story about the so-called "master hacker", in which it does a good job of destroying the mythos that
Well that's not really true. People on a different side of the debate than I are not necessarily jerks, just wrong.
I tried to present my ideas in an honest and truthful way, and not be seriously offensive, even when he acted in ways
hacky-sack?"
owned," she pontificated, in that snotty "52% of my clothes are made of hemp which therefore makes me morally superior
The experience made me think of the instructions from all corners of the media after 9/11 that what we, as Americans,
or any other simply crappy country in the world, because none of them satisfy both those propositions.
If and when you find one, that means that I'll be perfectly willing to advocate an attack against them as well.
And exactly how do you go from no "final proof" to there being no evidence of impending aggression? The very fact that
Why are you still here?!
Don't you people ever get tired of just pulling shit out of your asses?
information with your heads crammed so far up your asses, so I'll give you a pass.
Also, I've printed out and made a bunch of copies of some flyers from this site and will be passing them out.
Now of course I'm sure that these open-toed folks have a flurry of perfectly well thought-out reasons as to why pissing
getting an education. When she tried to talk to one of the organizers after her test about how some people were just
one of the most fad-driven enterprises imaginable. It produces a new catechism each decade, which everyone dutifully recites.
to roost," those sniveling, carping appeasers,
of fist.
However, several of the exchanges I have had have definately been with those you might describe as "challeneged" in
I tried to present my ideas in an honest and truthful way, and not be seriously offensive, even when he acted in ways
Replace "powerful" with "crazy and armed with nukes" and you'd be right. Otherwise, your statement is nonsense.
by both Instapundit and Cold Fury (and probably by sundry others by now):
The book details the ways that employees can inadvertently leak information that can be exploited by hackers to compromise
"approach parody" is too mild. They sprinted towards parody, jumped on top of it and proceded to give parody a spirited
of righteousness; and it becomes a very evil thing if it serves merely as a mask for cowardice and
And exactly how do you go from no "final proof" to there being no evidence of impending aggression? The very fact that
I strongly suspect TR had access to some sort of time machine and traveled into the furture about a hundred years.
In theory, I was of course angry, but I had a vaguely detatched sense about the whole thing. A large part of that of
Already, even if the UN thumbs its irrelevant nose at the idea of going after Iraq (and if it actually does, then they'll
and that it wasn't fair for these people to stop them, the girl started literally screaming at her about selfish she was.
fact that these people are thugs, bullies and liars.
Quite the contrary, Bush's aggressive rhetoric, disregard for international law, and his lack of any vision other than war
for the life of me, cannot see it. The news showed a clip of a guy trying politely to walk around a woman so self-righteous
military action to counter the Soviet threat was not possible, because of their equal capacity to destroy us through
Russia and shit. Besides, it's just the Russians. Why don't we just contain them or something? Hey, who's up for some
not just "fear," as if we're going to indiscriminantly nuke the floor under our beds because monsters might be hiding there.
the way. Apparently that wasn't enough for the however, because they then started pulling at her legs to keep her from
Well I wouldn't be surprised if this Wednesday at Sproul there will be similar behavior, and I plan to be there. Maybe
just now. Admittedly they do face significant challenges in carrying out their duties due to their imaginary nature,
Sure, it'd be nice to be a leader...
weapons inspections in Iraq represent a good example of how the rule of law has been used, and can be used again, to avert
find testimonials to diversity. Flip through any recent social sciences or humanities textbook and diversity pops up with
My sentences, thus decreed, will be subsequently carried out by my elite brigade of Beheading Gnomes, whom I made up
agree that [insert additional badly-forced car metaphor here]!
that extended anger and sadness bring, or maybe even from just the fact that my threshold of human suffering sufficient
care. Just don't let me hear anything about how this bombing that specifically targeted Australian civilians was somehow
Maybe I can't change the fact that I have to be intimately confronted with the death and pain in order to really feel the
faith at large, since many of them are peaceful, albeit intellectually stunted, people.
When I first heard about the bombing in Bali, my initial reaction was, "Another terrorist attack? Well, of course."
to really concern yourself with, except in a somewhat general, theoretical way.
needed now was healing, closure; in short, to "get over it" and "move on."
Heaven forfend them not being on board with us!
about equal probability.
"Standing in the foyer of the Bounty Hotel, people were just walking in, blood dripping off them, burns to their face, skin
satisfy you. I'd be much more amendable to the idea however if you were willing to be a personal eye-witness to this
Saddam will use these nukes when he gets them, whether that use takes the form of vaporizing a city or merely being hung
When I first heard about the bombing in Bali, my initial reaction was, "Another terrorist attack? Well, of course."
only be revealed as more useless than it already seems), there is right now a coalition prepared to go into Iraq with the
But anyway, right there you've got yourself eight nations total in the coalition, hailing from North America, both western
I was already in a state of "moving on" and being "over it" before I even heard about the Bali attacks, with the result
it is shoved, in all its detailed horror, right into my face.
a representative of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was quoted as saying.
conflict.
who has been deprived of food for at least 6 hours - sounds like an unusually cruel thing to do, I know, but I'm sure
Finally, long after the fad has grown tiresome, everyone's attention turns to another scrap of dogma for the next decade.
the real fault of that government or its citizens, or the West in general, or capitalism, or any other ridiculous boogeyman
In fact, the idea of pre- emptive attack depends on fear. It presupposes insecurity and assumes we will always be threatened.
world that even today harbors and offers succor to the same groups that piloted the 9/11 planes, right?
of a lack of imagination or basic humanity; the fact that it's difficult for me to feel deeply for people suffering unless
Such as this quote by Teddy Roosevelt concerning his acceptance of the Nobel Peace Prize, posted now
President Bush says he wants to avoid "a future of fear." It's an admirable goal, but one hardly served by this new doctrine.
use grown-up scissors), but nevertheless, even though he really didn't deserve it,
it is shoved, in all its detailed horror, right into my face.
"Standing in the foyer of the Bounty Hotel, people were just walking in, blood dripping off them, burns to their face, skin
We despise and abhor the bully, the brawler, the oppressor, whether in private or public life, but
they're done, hang them on his wall next to the framed heads of Iraqi dissidents and say to himself, "Well, I can check
When I first heard about the bombing in Bali, my initial reaction was, "Another terrorist attack? Well, of course."
After 3000 of your countrymen die in a couple hours, anything less than that is wont to be downplayed in significance
information with your heads crammed so far up your asses, so I'll give you a pass.
that extended anger and sadness bring, or maybe even from just the fact that my threshold of human suffering sufficient
the world to stomach the imperial scent of our newly enunciated military doctrine that proposes pre- emption of any powerful
occurred, smashing the window of their hotel room.
satisfy you. I'd be much more amendable to the idea however if you were willing to be a personal eye-witness to this
One of the great advances of the modern era has been the spread of the rule of law. This is the now common idea that
act such as this. In a few days or weeks, I'm sure it will subside to a colder, more focused resolution to continue to
but I hope to do that soon. I also hope to win the Nobel Prize in Kickboxing, and judge each of those things to be of
so that he will be better equipped to fulfill point 1). Show me another nation that's like that today.
I've been blogging since July 2005, and in that time, I've had a few inter-blog arguments with the folks on the other
last update : 4-7-2008
