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Tuesday, September 21, 2004 |
Bush's Double Standard?
E.J. Dionne says the president should do what he says:
But, most important, there is only one reason the story about Bush's choices during the Vietnam years persists. It's because the president won't give detailed answers to the direct questions posed by the Times story and other responsible media organizations, including the Boston Globe. Their questions never depended on the discredited CBS documents.
Bush could end this story now so we could get to the real issues of 2004. It would require only that the president take an hour or so with reporters to make clear what he did and did not do in the Guard. He may have had good reasons for ducking that physical exam. Surely he can explain the gaps in his service and tell us honestly whether any pull was used to get him into the Guard. [Oliver Willis - Like Kryptonite To Stupid]
Bush would never do that. It's clear from the way he behaves now what a lifetime of privilege gets you: never having to answer for your actions, admit or learn from mistakes. The entire country -- and a chunk of the world -- is now witness to the corrosive effect of privilege and influence.
4:11:33 PM Permalink
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Rodney in a Coma
Comedian Rodney Dangerfield has been in a coma for several weeks following heart surgery, his wife confirmed.
Joan Dangerfield said on Monday her husband had been able to breathe for himself for the past 24 hours.
She said he had shown signs of awareness, adding she was hopeful he would regain consciousness soon.
11:40:56 AM Permalink
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Camouflage by Joe Haldeman
Recent Reading. Joe Haldeman has always been a very interesting writer, sometimes a great one. This is kind of a run-of-the-mill sf novel, with no great revelations, other than a compelling, well-told story and good characters. It follows two aliens, who can morph into the shape of any living being, and their thousands of years on the earth. One's a good guy, one malevolent. A somewhat parallel story concerns the discovery of an apparently alien artifact at the bottom of a deepsea trench. Haldeman's alien characters are very well drawn, and the book comes to a satisfying conclusion. Recommended entertaining reading.
10:19:35 AM Permalink
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American Reported Beheaded in Iraq
A video posted on a militant Islamic Web site shows the beheading of a man identified as civilian contractor Eugene Armstrong. Armstrong was kidnapped along with one British and one American colleague from their house in Baghdad Thursday. Hear NPR's Peter Kenyon and NPR's Robert Siegel. [NPR's All Things Considered]
Bring 'em on!
8:28:26 AM Permalink
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Tolerance
Is there such a thing as religious tolerance? . . . most of the people in this world believe that the Creator of the universe has written a book. We have the misfortune of having many such books on hand, each making an exclusive claim as to its infallibility. People tend to organize themselves into factions according to which of these incompatible claims they accept . . . . Each of these texts urges its readers to adopt a variety of beliefs and practices. . . . All are in perverse agreement on one point of fundamental importance, however: "respect" for other faiths, or for the views of unbelievers, is not an attitude that God endorses. While all faiths have been touched . . . with the spirit of ecumenicalism, the central tenet of every religious tradition is that all others are mere repositories of error or, at best, dangerously incomplete. Intolerance is thus intrinsic to every creed. Once a person believes -- really believes -- that certain ideas can lead to eternal happiness, or to its antithesis, he cannot tolerate the possibility that the people he loves might be led astray by the blandishments of unbelievers. Certainty about the next life is simply incompatible with tolerance in this one. The End of Faith
7:59:20 AM Permalink
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© Copyright 2004 Steve Michel.
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